BenchMark's Bill Gurley set to leave Uber's board of directors

Following the resignation of Uber CEO Travis Kalanick, Benchmark's Bill Gurley is also set to leave his Uber's board of directors seat. A BenchMark spokesperson told Bloomberg about Gurley's departure and that his board seat would be taken by a fellow BenchMark general partner, Matt Cohler.

According to a New York Times that first reported about Kalanick's resignation, Gurley began pushing for a leadership change soon after former Uber engineer Susan Fowler wrote a blog describing multiple instances of sexual harassment at Uber. Despite Kalanick deciding to take an indefinite leave of absence post his mother's death, Gurley believed that Uber ultimately needed a new CEO and began speaking with other investors about pressing Kalanick to step down. Bloomberg reports that Gurley's move to push Kalanick aside gained some support while it also upset some others at Uber.

Gurley was amongst Uber's earliest investors and one of its biggest fans. He played a key role in recruiting many of the company's executives. But in private Gurley became a vocal critic of Kalanick in recent months.

Matt Cohler taking up Bill Gurley seat is also an interesting move given his friendship with Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, who is tipped to replace Kalanick.

Meanwhile, David Trujillo, a partner at private equity firm TPG Capital is joining Uber's board to replace David Bonderman, a TPG partner who resigned from the board this month after making a sexist joke at a company meeting, according to sources. Kalanick too will remain on the board after resigning as chief executive.