Uber chief Travis Kalanick is taking an indefinite leave of absence from the ride-hailing company he co-founded because of the toxic culture of bullying and sexual harassment that flourished under his watch.  On the same day, a prominent board member resigned after making a sexist joke during a meeting about fixing Uber's problems.

"Recent events have brought home for me that people are more important than work, and that I need to take some time off of the day-to-day to grieve my mother, whom I buried on Friday, to reflect, to work on myself, and to focus on building out a world-class leadership team," Kalanick wrote to employees, referring to the recent boating accident that killed his mother and critically injured his father.

Uber was already criticized for undercutting local taxi licensing and regulation laws in cities around the world, and testing its driverless car technology without seeking legal approval.  Cocky Kalanick rubbed many the wrong way when he was caught on video berating an Uber driver.

But the controversy really heated up earlier this year when a former engineer wrote a blog detailing the constant sexual harassment she endured while getting no back-up from human resources.  That set forth a flood of complaints from within and from other former workers. 

Kalanick's decision to take leave came as the board took in the results of two investigations into mismanagement and sexism infecting the company.  Several workers were sacked, and a major executive was fired in another scandal involving the wrongful procurement of the medical records of a woman who was raped by an Uber driver in India.  One of the investigations pointed its finger at Kalanick.

"The Board should evaluate the extent to which some of the responsibilities that Mr. Kalanick has historically possessed should be shared or given outright to other members of senior management," the report reads.  "The search for a Chief Operating Officer should address this concern to some extent."

Kalanick didn't specify how long his leave would last, or if he'd ever return.  As he left, an Uber board member followed him out the door - permanently.

Billionaire businessman David Bonderman resigned after making what he later admitted was an "inappropriate" comment about women at a company-wide meeting to discuss the ramapnt unprofessional sexual harassment and gender discrimination plaguing the company.

Fellow board member and Liberal blogger Ariana Huffington spoke of getting more women into management.

"There's a lot of data that shows when there's one woman on the board, it's much more likely that there will be a second woman on the board," said Huffington.

The 74-year old Bonderman interjected:  "Actually, what it shows is, it's much likely there'll be more talking."

Awkward silence.  "Oh, come on, David," Huffington responded and turned to the crowd, "Don't worry, David will have a lot of talking to do, as well."

As it turned out, Bonderman spoke in an apology letter to Uber workers.  "I want to apologize to my fellow board member for a disrespectful comment," calling it "inappropriate".