Ms. Whitman, chief executive of Hewlett Packard Enterprise, said she would not become Uber’s next chief, following reports about potential candidates.
Meg Whitman, chief executive of Hewlett Packard Enterprise, said she would not become the next chief of Uber, amid a flurry of reports about who might assume leadership of the troubled ride-hailing company.
Ms. Whitman posted a statement on Twitter late Thursday about the vacant Uber job, following reports this week that she was on a short list of candidates to be the next C. E. O.
“Normally I do not comment on rumors, but the speculation about my future and Uber has become a distraction, ” Ms. Whitman said in three consecutive tweets. “So let me make this as clear as I can. I am fully committed to H. P. E. and plan to remain the company’s C. E. O. We have a lot of work still to do at H. P. E. and I am not going anywhere.”
“Uber’s C. E. O. will not be Meg Whitman, ” she added.
Ms. Whitman’s statement follows weeks of speculation about who would take the place of Travis Kalanick, Uber’s co-founder, who stepped down as chief executive last month after a shareholder revolt. The company, based in San Francisco, is grappling with issues including reforming its workplace culture, an intellectual property dispute over driverless cars, and regulatory scrutiny over some of its practices.
Uber’s directors have vowed to find a new chief executive within the next six weeks, according to people familiar with the discussions, who asked not to be identified because they were not authorized to speak publicly. Ms. Whitman’s name did appear on the short list of candidates, these people added. Other contenders for chief executive include Jeffrey Immelt, who is stepping down as C. E. O. of General Electric, according to the people familiar with the discussions.
Mr. Immelt’s candidacy was earlier reported by Bloomberg. Uber declined to comment.
