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Leavey School of Business Santa Clara University

Newsmakers

Assistant Professor of Management Jo-Ellen Pozner Head Shot

Assistant Professor of Management Jo-Ellen Pozner Head Shot

Jo-Ellen Pozner : Help Wanted at Uber : KTVU & SF Chronicle

Management Professor Jo-Ellen Pozner was quoted in multiple articles examining Uber’s internal crises following numerous scandals and accusations.
Assistant Professor of Management Jo-Ellen Pozner Head Shot

Jo-Ellen Pozner, an Assistant Professor of Management, spoke on KTVU-SF and was quoted in an article for KTVU and the San Francisco Chronicle which looked at the internal systematic strife at Uber following months of scandals and turmoil which revealed the company’s serious issues with sexism, harassment, and bullying in the workplace. While some have compared Uber, currently without a CEO, to Apple during its time without Steve Jobs, Pozner sided against the analogy.

An excerpt from The San Francisco Chronicle:

“The conflicts at Apple were legitimate business issues,” said Jo-Ellen Pozner, a management professor at Santa Clara University. “I don’t think the culture at Apple was toxic” in the way Uber has been characterized. “People were up front and uncensored but not jerks. There’s a fundamental difference.”

Apple already had a CEO at the helm, John Sculley, whom Jobs had recruited, plus an entire suite of executives. Uber has seen a massive executive exodus that leaves it looking for a CEO, chief operating officer, chief financial officer, chief marketing officer and general counsel, among other positions.

Of course, in some ways that clean slate may be a plus. Some potential chief operating officers who balked at serving as Kalanick’s No. 2 may be more amenable to new management — or might themselves become CEO candidates. David Cush, former CEO of Virgin America, and former Ford CEO Alan Mulally are among the names being mentioned, along with Marissa Mayer, who just stepped down as chief of Yahoo; Susan Wojcicki, who runs YouTube at Google; and Meg Whitman, CEO of Hewlett-Packard Enterprise. Uber’s board is reportedly eyeing Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, always at the top of executive recruiters’ wish lists, but she has privately said she’s not leaving her job.

Learn more about Professor Jo-Ellen Pozner

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