Manik Gupta, Chief Product Officer of Uber Technologies Inc (NYSE: UBER), is leaving. His last day with Uber, the popular ride-sharing company, will be December 13.
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi will be filling in for Gupta in the interim until a replacement is chosen.
"After a few discussions with Dara as well as with my family--and now that we've made it through the IPO and an important year for the company--I've made the tough decision to leave Uber," Gupta said.
Gupta started at Uber as senior director of the maps and marketplace product team in 2015, then in 2018 became chief product officer. Before Uber, Gupta was with Google (NASDAQ: GOOGL), whose parent company is Alphabet Inc.
Now, once again, Gupta is turning over a new leaf. "The end of November marks 4 years for me at Uber, and as we've been planning our strategy for next year, I've been doing my own personal 2020 planning," he said. "As for what's next for me, you only get a few moments in your life to take a break, and with the holidays coming up and before my son starts middle school mid-next year, I plan to spend some quality time with family and recharge before my next adventure."
A spokesperson at Uber commented to TechCrunch about Gupta's decision to leave. "Over the past four years, Manik has elevated our product strategy and has been the driving force behind some of our most ambitious launches, including Uber Rewards and Uber Pro, Uber Wallet, and our movement towards a 'super app.' We're grateful for his leadership and wish him the very best."
While news that Gupta is leaving may not have been a direct result of Uber's dwindling performance, the announcement did occur amid reports of the company's 2019 losses. Last month, six months after going public on May 10, Uber reported a $1.2 billion loss. Since May, shares have gone down 35%, according to Yahoo! Finance. Uber closed Wednesday at $29.06 per share.