Whether it was because of sexual harassment claims or simply because the time had come, these CEOs did what they had to do by stepping down and handing the reigns over to someone new. Take a look at some of the recent step downs in 2017:
Yancey Strickler, CEO of Kickstarter
As the most recent exit on the list, Strickler was the last remaining cofounder of Kickstarter that was still in a meaningful role. Cofounders Charles Adler and Perry Chen exited in 2013 and 2014 respectively, although Chen is still a chairperson for the popular crowdfunding company. As he points out in a post on Kickstarter explaining that it has been a long 12 years and it was time to move on.
Jim Deters, CEO of Galvanize
As CEO of one of the most influential coding schools and entrepreneur campuses in the country, Deters has made a serious impact on the business landscape as a whole. With eight campuses that house more than 825 small companies and 2,563 members, his absence will be missed. It won’t be missed that much though, because he is staying on as chairman of the company.
Travis Kalanick, CEO of Uber
And then there’s Travis. After what felt like years of obviously true harassment claims, toxic culture complaints, and damning diversity reports, major investors called for his resignation in an effort to get the company back on the right track. Kalanick admitted that things had gotten a bit out of hand and that removing himself could help them straighten things out. Read more about innovative entrepreneurs on TechCo
