Dive Brief:
- WeWork CFO Andre Fernandez is resigning effective June 1 after just six months in the role, he informed the New York-based co-working space provider on Tuesday. “The resignation is not the result of any disagreement with the Company with respect to any matter relating to financial controls, financial statements or any other operations,” according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
- Kurt Wehner, current chief accounting officer, will take over the financial helm as Fernandez’s replacement, also effective June 1, the filing said.
- Fernandez’s swift exit follows the departure of his former C-suite colleague Sandeep Mathrani, who notified WeWork on May 10 that he would be resigning from his position as CEO.
Dive Insight:
With Wehner taking the financial helm, WeWork is welcoming its fourth CFO to the seat since March of 2020. Prior to Fernandez’s departure, Benjamin Dunham left the co-working space provider in May 2022, also after a short 18 months at his post, the Wall Street Journal previously reported.
Wehner joined WeWork in 2020 as chief accounting officer and was previously the chief accounting officer at Discovery from 2011 to 2020, the SEC filing said. The company also recently appointed David Tolley as interim CEO and Daniel Hurwitz as chairman of the board, both effective May 26. Hurwitz will also be leading a committee to search for a permanent replacement for the top executive seat, the filing said.
“I would like to thank Andre for his partnership and dedication to the company as he helped to restructure our debt and drive the company towards EBITDA profitability,” outgoing CEO Mathrani said of Fernandez’s departure, according to a Reuters report.
In March, the workspace provider struck a deal backed by SoftBank to cut its net debt by approximately $1.5 billion and extend new capital commitments of over $1 billion once completed, the company announced in a press release.
With finance chiefs shuffling in and out, the company has been struggling since 2016 — its operating expenses have increased by $3.8 billion in the past seven years, SeekingAlpha reported — and now, has been affected by massive tech layoffs over the past several months.
