- Former WeWork CEO Adam Neumann is expected to step down from the board of directors in a financing deal that would give SoftBank control of the office-sharing firm, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.
- WeWork previously delayed the timeline for its initial-public-offering plan amid a wave of criticism in recent weeks, including complaints over a deal under which the company paid Neumann $5.9 million for the use of the word “We.”
- WeWork’s board of directors includes former officials at Coach, Goldman Sachs, and Uber, along with top private-equity and venture-capital executives.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
Note: The below is a story in progress and will updated accordingly.
Former WeWork CEO Adam Neumann is expected to step down from the board of directors as part of a financing deal with SoftBank to keep the office-sharing firm afloat, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.
The board previously ousted Neumann, leaving control of the company to two executives. At the time, he still served as nonexecutive chairman of the office-sharing organization’s parent firm, The We Company. His voting power also dropped to three votes per share, down from 10 votes.
In the deal with SoftBank, Neumann will receive nearly $1.7 billion from the sprawling Japanese conglomerate, according to the Journal, as well as a $500 million line of credit. In return, he will sell back roughly $1 billion in stock and step down from the board.
Vice Chairman Sebastian Gunningham and Chief Financial Officer Artie Minson replaced Neumann as co-CEOs on September 24th, a decision made after “a lengthy” board call, The New York Times reported.
Per the Journal‘s earlier reporting, the push to initially remove Neumann came from leaders tied to SoftBank, WeWork’s largest backer, which has invested over $9 billion into the company and has representation on the board. Other board members include former officials at Coach, Goldman Sachs, and Uber, along with top private-equity and venture-capital executives.
The office-rental firm previously delayed the timeline for its initial-public-offering plan amid a wave of criticism in recent weeks, including complaints over a deal in which the company paid Neumann $5.9 million for use of the word “We.” That arrangement was reversed in September.
WeWork also made headlines when the firm revealed there were no women on its seven-member board of directors. The company quickly amended its federal filing to include one female: Harvard Business School professor Frances Frei. In the filing, WeWork said it planned to add additional directors after the IPO to create a more diverse group.
Neumann’s dual removal comes after reports on his drug and alcohol use, including accounts of smoking marijuana on a private flight to Israel.
WeWork previously adjusted its IPO filing to address investor concerns over how WeWork would be controlled after the public offering. Among them was a shift to give the board the power to remove Neumann. His wife — Rebekah Paltrow Neumann — was also removed from the CEO determination process.
Below are the board members’ connections to WeWork, plus some — but not all of — their professional highlights.
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