SAN FRANCISCO — In April, Wan Ling Martello, the head of Nestlé in Asia, found herself seated across from Arianna Huffington, an Uber director and a founder of The Huffington Post, at the Union Square Cafe in Manhattan.
Over dinner, the two women — who had met just a few months earlier — chatted about a food recall that Ms. Martello had handled.
As Ms. Martello described her salvage and recovery efforts, she said, Ms. Huffington began listening more closely. Ms. Huffington then wondered aloud whether Ms. Martello would be interested in helping Uber, which was dealing with a string of scandals, before whipping out her phone to call people at the ride-hailing company.Less than two months later, Ms. Martello had joined the board.
“I did not expect to be asked about Uber at that dinner, and I don’t think it was on Arianna’s agenda,” she said. It was only their second meeting. “The whole meeting was casual: Let’s just hang out.’”
Recruiting Ms. Martello is the sort of swift, behind-the-scenes power play that has propelled Ms. Huffington to become Uber’s most influential independent board member. In the 14 months since she joined the board, Ms. Huffington has acted as the public voice addressing the company’s workplace scandals, talked to employees and helped woo executives. She has also become one of the closest confidantes to Travis Kalanick, Uber’s chief executive.
Ms. Huffington’s influence at Uber is growing while the company is dealing with a vacuum of leadership. As Uber tackles the fallout from investigations into its corporate culture, including allegations of sexual harassment and questions over its management, Mr. Kalanick has taken an indefinite leave of absence and left management to a committee of executives. The board is also in flux with the resignation of David Bonderman, a partner at the private equity firm TPG, after he made a sexist comment in response to her at an Uber meeting.
It now falls to Ms. Huffington, Ms. Martello and Bill Gurley, another board member and a partner at the venture capital firm Benchmark, to complete some of the urgent tasks at Uber, like vetting candidates for a chief operating officer. Prospects include David Cush, the former chief executive of Virgin America, according to two people with knowledge of the talks, who asked not to be identified because the proceedings were confidential.
Mr. Cush did not immediately return a request for comment.Ms. Huffington’s role has caused some discomfort. Some Uber executives have grown wary of her close ties with Mr. Kalanick, according to three employees close to executive deliberations. (Ms. Huffington recently visited the hospital where Mr. Kalanick’s father, who was injured in a boating accident, was staying, according to two people with knowledge of the event.) Four former Huffington Post employees also raised an eyebrow at Ms. Huffington’s ability to swoop in and quickly win people over.
Others praised her effectiveness. “She sows the seeds of trust and makes you feel her interests are aligned with yours,” said Fred Harman, a partner at Oak Investment Partners, which invested in The Huffington Post. “When you get down to making decisions, you can focus on how persuasive she is.”
In an interview, Ms. Huffington, 66, said: “Knowing how to deal with crises without being overwhelmed — keeping one’s head while people all around are losing theirs — is the most important leadership quality….
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