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Uber To Hire Chief Operating Officer To Help Embattled CEO

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Embattled Uber CEO Travis Kalanick says the company will hire a chief operating officer who can partner with him to write its "next chapter."

The ride-hailing company has been hit by a series of controversies, including allegations that it routinely ignores sexual harassment, and a video of Kalanick profanely berating a driver who confronted him about steep cuts in Uber's rates for a premium version of its service.

After the video surfaced, Kalanick apologized and said he needs "leadership help." The 40-year-old executive also said he needs to "grow up."

"This morning I told the Uber team that we're actively looking for a Chief Operating Officer: a peer who can partner with me to write the next chapter in our journey," Kalanick wrote in a blog post Tuesday.

San Francisco-based Uber last week also acknowledged the existence of a program dubbed "Greyball" that it has used to thwart authorities who have been trying to curtail or shut down its service in cities around the world.

Officials in Portland, Oregon, are calling for an investigation into the Greyball program. Uber said it has not used the software in Portland since 2015.

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