WeWork has confirmed that Adam Neumann is stepping down as chief executive officer (CEO) of WeWork's parent company The We Company.
The decision of Neumann to resign as CEO follows a WeWork announcement to delay its initial public offering (IPO). Neumann has been receiving various criticism following the company's IPO filing in August, including the large losses reported by the company, the lack of a woman on its board of directors, and his unchecked power in the company and potential conflicts of interest.
Prior to the announcement, there were reports that some board members wanted to oust Neumann as CEO, including SoftBank, its largest investor.
Neumann released a statement saying "while our business has never been stronger, in recent weeks, the scrutiny directed toward me has become a significant distraction, and I have decided that it is in the best interest of the company to step down as chief executive."
While he has stepped down as CEO, Neumann will remain as a non-executive chairman but will no longer have majority voting control. As indicated in the IPO filing, his votes per share will be reduced from 20 votes to just three votes.
WeWork announced that Artie Minson, formerly co-president and chief financial officer, and Sebastian Gunningham, formerly vice chairman, will serve as co-CEOs.
The company's revenue in the first half of 2019 reached $1.5 billion, more than doubling what it brought in during the same period of 2018, but its losses also went up. The We Company reported a net loss of $904 million in just the first six months of this year and a total of $4.2 billion since the start of 2016.
Valuation of the company was previously up to $47 billion on the private market and prior to its IPO, it was considering a valuation of $20 billion before it announced the delay in going public.
Neumann co-founded the co-working space operator WeWork in 2010 with Miguel McKelvey, who currently serves as chief culture officer.
