Uber's founder and chief executive Travis Kalanick, who last week said he would take indefinite leave, has now resigned from his post although he remains on the board of the technology-driven ride-hailing company, following pressure by shareholders, reports state.

Kalanick's resignation was first reported in the New York Times which stated that five of Uber’s major investors demanded that the chief executive resigns immediately. The newspaper said the investors included one of Uber’s biggest shareholders,  the venture capital firm Benchmark, which has one of its partners, Bill Gurley, on Uber’s board. The investors made their demand for Kalanick to step down in a letter delivered to the chief executive while he was in Chicago, said the people with knowledge of the situation.

In a statement for the New York Times Kalanick said: “I love Uber more than anything in the world and at this difficult moment in my personal life I have accepted the investors request to step aside so that Uber can go back to building rather than be distracted with another fight.”

As reported by Manifest-I last week Uber has become mired in a number of controversies in recent months including allegations of a sexist culture and demands from Uber drivers for better employment rights.

In February a former Uber employee Susan Fowler published a blog alleging harassment, discrimination, and retaliation during her employment at Uber, and detailing the ineffectiveness of the company’s then-existing policies and procedures. This resulted in the company appointing  Eric Holder and Tammy Albarrán, partners at the law firm Covington & Burling to carry out an independent review. They were asked to examine “the specific issues relating to the workplace environment raised by Susan Fowler, as well as diversity and inclusion at Uber more broadly.” A special committee of the board was appointed to oversee the work. The resulting report recommended a series of corporate governance improvements to improve Uber's company culture.