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Uber<\/a> Technologies Inc.\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n West will leave the company Aug. 17. to volunteer in the campaign in his personal capacity, Uber said Friday in a regulatory filing, without naming Harris\u2019 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\u2019s campaign.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile I love my job, my team, and the positive impact Uber has on the world, I have always believed family comes first,\u201d West wrote. \u201cSo I\u2019ve decided to dedicate myself full-time to supporting my family and my sister-in-law on the campaign trail.\u201d<\/p>\n West said he won\u2019t have a formal role or title with the campaign, nor will he be paid. \u201cI\u2019ll be acting as a family-member surrogate, one who can speak about the vice president from the perspective of someone who\u2019s known her for decades,\u201d he said. West said he intends to return to Uber after the campaign.<\/p>\n 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\u2019s 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\u00a0report<\/a>\u00a0Thursday.<\/p>\n West played a key role during Harris\u2019\u00a0ill-fated effort<\/a>\u00a0to win the party\u2019s 2020 presidential nomination, which was co-managed by Harris\u2019 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<\/a> Inc.<\/p>\n At Uber, West has been involved in high-profile legal cases and settlements with state attorneys general to keep the company\u2019s drivers classified as independent contractors rather than employees, helping defend Uber\u2019s core business model.<\/p>\n Katie Waitzman, chief deputy general counsel, will assume West\u2019s duties as general counsel, and Elizabeth Coleman, deputy general counsel and deputy corporate secretary, will assume West\u2019s duties as corporate secretary during his leave, Uber said in the filing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n