WeWork Ex-CEO to Staff: ‘Too Much Focus Has Been Placed on Me’
WeWork Ex-CEO to Staff: ‘Too Much Focus Has Been Placed on Me’
(Bloomberg) -- Adam Neumann, who’s stepping down as chief executive officer of WeWork, the company he co-founded, sent his staff a letter on Tuesday explaining his departure from the top job. In the memo, Neumann says that “business has never been stronger,” but that “too much of the focus has been placed on me.” He’s staying on as non-executive chairman of the board. The following is Neumann’s email in its entirety.
When Miguel, Rebekah and I founded WeWork in 2010, we set out to create a world where people work to make a life and not just a living. Over the past 9 years our global team has built a community of over 500,000 members in 130 cities across 29 countries, and I could not be more inspired by everything we have achieved.
Our business has never been stronger, but since the announcement of our IPO, too much of the focus has been placed on me. Our priority has always been our mission and our community. Because of this, I have chosen to step back as CEO and will concentrate on my role as Chairman of the Board. It is you, our amazing team, that deserve the focus and your daily actions are the secret to what makes this company so special. We have an incredible opportunity to execute on our goals and be measured by our results.
To lead the company forward, Sebastian Gunningham and Artie Minson will serve as Co-CEOs. They are proven leaders that embody the ethos of our culture, with track records of scaling world-changing businesses.
The spotlight on us has never been greater than at this moment, and with this visibility we have an opportunity to expand our global business to more people than ever before.
I am profoundly grateful to each and every one of you for your dedication to this company and our mission. I have never believed in our business, our people, and our future more.
As we take this next step in our company’s journey, I am equally ready to listen, grow, and continue working relentlessly on my commitment to all of you.
-Adam Neumann
To contact the reporter on this story: Gillian Tan in New York at gtan129@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Tom Giles at tgiles5@bloomberg.net, Jillian Ward
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