Uber legal Chief Tony West to take leave for Harris campaign

By Natalie Lung

Uber Technologies Inc.’s chief legal officer Tony West, the brother-in-law of Vice President Kamala Harris, is taking a temporary leave of absence from the company to volunteer in her presidential bid.

West will leave the company on August 17. to volunteer in the campaign in his personal capacity, Uber said Friday in a regulatory filing, without naming Harris’ presidential bid or a return date. In an email West sent to the company seen by Bloomberg News, he confirmed he will be joining the vice president’s campaign.

“While I love my job, my team, and the positive impact Uber has on the world, I have always believed family comes first,” West wrote. “So I’ve decided to dedicate myself full-time to supporting my family and my sister-in-law on the campaign trail.

West said he won’t have a formal role or title with the campaign, nor will he be paid. “I’ll be acting as a family-member surrogate, one who can speak about the vice president from the perspective of someone who’s known her for decades,” he said. West said he intends to return to Uber after the campaign.

West joins as the Harris presidential campaign is in the midst of adding key advisers and seeking a vice presidential nominee. West, a former associate attorney general during the Obama administration, is married to Maya Harris, the vice president’s younger sister. He has frequently been seen by the side of the vice president since she became the presumptive Democratic Party nominee for president after President Joe Biden dropped his reelection bid on July 21, according to an Axios report Thursday.

West played a key role during Harris’ ill-fated effort to win the party’s 2020 presidential nomination, which was co-managed by Harris’ sister. West joined San Francisco-based Uber in 2017 as senior vice president, chief legal officer and corporate secretary. Before that, he was corporate secretary and executive vice president of snack and beverage company PepsiCo Inc.

At Uber, West has been involved in high-profile legal cases and settlements with state attorneys general to keep the company’s drivers classified as independent contractors rather than employees, helping defend Uber’s core business model.

Katie Waitzman, chief deputy general counsel, will assume West’s duties as general counsel, and Elizabeth Coleman, deputy general counsel and deputy corporate secretary, will assume West’s duties as corporate secretary during his leave, Uber said in the filing.