Current Events > WeWork CEO Adam Neumann Expected to Step Down

(+) Yeah! (+)

WeWork co-founder and Chief Executive Adam Neumann is expected to step down after the companys much-anticipated initial public offering was derailed, capping a remarkably swift fall from grace for the leader of one of the countrys most valuable startups.

Mr. Neumann and the companys advisers have agreed that the best path forward for the office-sharing startup is for him to relinquish the CEO role, people familiar with the matter said. He is expected to remain nonexecutive chairman of We Co., as the company is officially known.

An announcement of the move could come as soon as today, the people said, assuming the decision isnt reversed at the last minute.

Mr. Neumanns position at the company became tenuous after We postponed an IPO earlier this month amid concerns from prospective investors about its governance and ability to reverse big losses. That skepticism has placed a major dent in the companys expected valuation, which has plummeted from $47 billion earlier this year to as low as $15 billion.

Mr. Neumann will cede majority control of We, with his voting shares being reduced to 3-to-1 from 10-to-1, the people said.

The company plans to name two internal executives as Co-CEOs: Artie Minson, currently the companys chief financial officer, and Sebastian Gunningham, a veteran of Amazon.com Inc., a person familiar with the decision said.

Further undercutting his position: eccentric behavior that was detailed in a Wall Street Journal article last week, including a party-heavy lifestyle that included marijuana use in an airplane and unpredictable management decisions.

...

But pressure on Mr. Neumann from SoftBank Group Corp. appears to have marked a major turning point. The Japanese technology conglomerate is among those pushing for his ouster, the Journal first reported Sunday. In addition to being Wes biggest shareholder, SoftBank has influence by virtue of its willingness to pump much-needed cash into the company. SoftBank was expected to contribute as much as a third of the $3 billion or so of IPO proceeds. Without its support, there would have been few other places for We to look for the multiple billions of dollars it needs to keep growing at its present pace.

The change in tune from SoftBank and others was also surprising because existing investors have long known about some of the concerns raised in the past few weeks. Wes board of directors approved deals between the company and Mr. Neumann like the leases with his properties, as well as other eyebrow-raising big-ticket items like the more than $60 million private jet used by Mr. Neumann, people familiar with the matter have said. His penchant for tequila and partying has long been well known.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/neumann-expected-to-step-down-as-we-ceo-11569343912?mod=hp_lead_pos1

This will help their IPO plans.
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This IPO is going to be a train wreck, they are so over valued
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The money comes from accepting the risk?
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AngelsNAirwav3s posted...

This IPO is going to be a train wreck, they are so over valued

Yeah Softbank is just inflating these companies valuations.

They're just a real estate company.
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So many ipos come out way overvalued now. Like everyone thinks every tech startup is a pot of gold now. Reminds me of the dotcom bubble burst.

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What a fucking shit show this has been
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im behind; what is wework?
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Hanky_Bannister posted...

im behind; what is wework?

They are a company that rents coworking spaces to companies. Planned to go IPO but then after the larger scale scrutinizing of their business model (absurdly unprofitable and they don't even own any of the properties they manage), significant losses in valuation, the ousting of their CEO, the IPO has been shelved
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Butterfiles posted...

Hanky_Bannister posted...

im behind; what is wework?

They are a company that rents coworking spaces to companies. Planned to go IPO but then after the larger scale scrutinizing of their business model (absurdly unprofitable and they don't even own any of the properties they manage), significant losses in valuation, the ousting of their CEO, the IPO has been shelved

lol. lot of that lately.

isnt uber having issues as well? they wont turn a profit for years?
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