It has emerged that the most likely frontrunner in the candidacy for the role of CEO at the world's largest ride-hailing service Uber, is former General Electric CEO, Jeff Immelt. Reports from several US media agencies continue to speculate that Immelt is the man that will be tasked with the responsibility of steering Uber out of choppy waters following the high-profile and controversial decision by Travis Kalanick to step aside as CEO in June.
Kalanick eventually bowed to internal pressures from stakeholders as Uber moved from one crisis to the next, the embattled former CEO take temporary leave, but offered his resignation just a few weeks later after another scandal in relation to employment practices within the organization left his position untenable.
It has also emerged that Uber's directors are expected to vote on a new chief executive within the next fortnight, it is believed that two other candidates are being considered for the position, but Immelt remains the favorite.
A source close to Uber declared that a new appointment must be made quickly, and lamented the length of the appointment process, claiming that everybody associated with Uber is now exhausted with the whole situation.
The source said: "We know it is never going to be a perfect choice, but everyone is becoming exhausted. We need someone with the skills to move us along. We all know Immelt's not the dynamic entrepreneur that Travis is, but he can certainly settle things down."
However, an awkward aspect of the situation which has now become 'messy' is that Uber's major investor Benchmark is now initiating legal action against Kalanick alleging that he meddled in the firms operations following his decision to resign as CEO. Benchmark's Matt Cohler and Kalanick both have seats on the board and will be involved in the selection process.