David Bonderman resigned from Uber’s board of directors Tuesday night, following intense outcry over a sexist joke he madeduring an all-hands meeting called to address sexism at the ride-sharing company.
During the meeting, Uber announced that beleaguered CEO Travis Kalanick would be taking an indefinite leave of absence.
The company also shared recommendations from law firm Covington & Burling, which had been retained to look into ways Uber could fix its corporate culture in the wake of several sexual harassment allegations. Bonderman then joined fellow board member and media mogul Arianna Huffington on stage.
Huffington announced that Uber would be adding a new female board member, Wan Ling Martello, saying, “There’s a lot of data that shows when there’s one woman on the board, it’s much more likely that there will be a second woman on the board,” according to leaked audio obtained by Yahoo Finance.
“Actually what it shows is it’s much likely to be more talking,” Bonderman said in response.
Huffington responded with an uncomfortable laugh and said, “Oh, come on, David.”
Later on Tuesday, Bonderman apologized for what he called “a disrespectful comment that was directed at [Huffington] during today’s discussion.” Deeming it “inappropriate,” Bonderman apologized to all Uber employees, adding “I deeply regret it.”
On Twitter, Huffington thanked Bonderman for “doing the right thing for Uber at this time of critical cultural changes at the company.”
I appreciate David doing the right thing for Uber at this time of critical cultural changes at the company. https://t.co/jCw0y9tBYY
— Arianna Huffington (@ariannahuff) June 14, 2017