WeWork Co-Founder Miguel McKelvey to Leave at End of June

(Bloomberg) -- Miguel McKelvey, who co-founded WeWork alongside Adam Neumann, is stepping away from the co-working giant at the end of June, according to a Friday staff memo reviewed by Bloomberg.

“At the end of this month, I’ll be leaving WeWork,” McKelvey wrote, describing it as one of the most difficult decisions of his life. “While it’s hard to leave, and I know there is a lot more work to be done, I could only make this decision knowing this company and our people are in good hands.”

McKelvey, a former architect who most recently held the role of chief culture officer, thanked current and former WeWork staff for letting him “turn my daydream into my day job.”

“I’ll carry with me the past decade of meaningful memories and powerful experiences for the rest of my life,” he wrote.

The company, which commanded a valuation as high as $47 billion at the beginning of last year, attempted to go public in the summer. Just weeks later, amid corporate governance concerns, Neumann stepped down as chief executive officer. He’s now suing its main shareholder, SoftBank Group Corp., for reneging on a $3 billion share purchase agreement.

Sandeep Mathrani, the CEO of WeWork parent We Co., said in a statement that McKelvey had left an “indelible mark” on the company and would be missed.

McKelvey and Neumann had dreamed up WeWork more than 10 years ago, when they met through a mutual friend and went on to imagine filling offices with like-minded small businesses and entrepreneurs. They envisioned not just a WeWork, but a wide array of businesses: WeSleep, WeBank, WeSail and more.

As the company grew its office-leasing business, Neumann stepped into the role of charismatic frontman and main fundraiser, while employees saw McKelvey as a calm and steady presence within the company. The two men often spoke in interviews about their separate but similar childhoods: Neumann spent some time on an Israeli kibbutz as a child, and McKelvey grew up on a commune in Oregon.

After the chaos of last year’s initial public offering attempt and Neumann’s departure, McKelvey has largely stayed quiet, though he wrote in a post on LinkedIn in December that he was “incredibly energized” about WeWork’s future.

Last month, SoftBank wrote down WeWork’s valuation to $2.9 billion.

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