BENGALURU :
Collaborative workspace startup WeWork has appointed Sandeep Mathrani as its new chief executive officer and a board member, after the departure of its CEO and co-founder Adam Neumann last September and a failed attempt to do initial public offering (IPO).
SoftBank Corp.-funded WeWork, which is now trying to reorganize and rebuild the organization after a slew of events last year, said that Mathrani is joining from 18 February and will report to executive chairman Marcelo Claure.
Mathrani succeeds co-CEOs Artie Minson and Sebastian Gunningham, both of whom helped stabilize WeWork over the past few months. Minson and Gunningham will remain with the company through a transition period to ensure a smooth onboarding process, WeWork said.
Mathrani most recently served as CEO of Brookfield Properties’ retail group.
“I am honored to be joining WeWork at this pivotal time in its history. The company has redefined how people and companies approach work with an innovative platform, exceptionally talented team and significant potential if we stick to our shared values and maintain our members-first focus. I am grateful for the confidence Marcelo and the Board have placed in me and look forward to partnering with Marcelo and the very talented employees at WeWork,” Mathrani said in a statement.
Summing up the last 100 days, WeWork has said that it has outlined a clear five-year strategic plan, built around six pillars, that guides a growth-led transformation plan. It has implemented a five-year financial plan that positions the firm to achieve profitability on an adjusted EBITDA basis by 2021 and positive free cash flow in 2022.
The troubled startup said it has established a strong liquidity position that allows it to execute its strategic and financial plans on a fully-funded basis with access to additional liquidity of approximately $2.5 billion, after executing its plan and becoming cash flow positive, for future growth.
And finally, that it has “made important changes to its operating model and organization structure with a clear governance structure to enable the proper execution of our plan with proper accountability throughout the organization.”
“Over the past 100 days since I joined WeWork, we have made tremendous progress strengthening the business. During this time, we have led an exhaustive search to identify a collaborative partner who is dedicated to the future success of WeWork. Sandeep is that person. He is the partner of choice with the right skills and experience as we work to execute WeWork’s transformation,” Claure said.
Source: Livemint
