Uber is bringing in another woman to help steer the company down a new path.
The embattled startup will add Wan Ling Martello, an executive at Nestle, as a new independent board member, according to a source familiar with the matter. Ling Martello will receive voting rights, the source said.
Martello is also on the board of Alibaba and Seiyu Ltd, a Japanese retail chain owned by WalMart.
The news, first report by the Wall Street Journal, comes after a seven hour board meeting on Sunday. The board discussed recommendations from a report on corporate culture prepared by former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder. Holder was hired to conduct a broad probe into Uber’s office culture after public complaints about sexism rocked the company in February. A former engineer named Susan Fowler write about her experience and claimed the company refused to properly address sexual harassment that she and other women had reported.
Martello will join Arianna Huffington as Uber’s second female board member.
Uber’s board consists of Kalanick, Garrett Camp, Uber cofounder and chairman of the company, and Ryan Graves, Uber head of global operations. Also on the board are Bill Gurley of Benchmark, David Bonderman of TPG Capital, and Arianna Huffington.
Martello is the third female appointment Uber has made in the past week. The company, valued at $68 billion, announced that it had hired Frances Frei, a former professor and administrator at Harvard Business School, as well as Bozoma Saint John, formerly of Apple Music.
Uber has lost a number of top execs amid a series of crises over the last six months. And the exodus is continuing: On Monday, SVP Emil Michael — CEO Travis Kalanick’s right-hand man — was announced his resignation.
Uber and Ling Martello did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A Nestle spokesperson said it does not comment on rumors.
