As WeWork Board Mulls CEO Ouster, There Are Echoes of the Fall of Travis Kalanick
- SoftBank is said to expect Benchmark to back its WeWork stance
- Softbank’s Son is among those pushing for Neumann to resign
In a dramatic battle playing out at troubled unicorn WeWork, members of the company’s board are considering calling for the ouster of Chief Executive Officer Adam Neumann, according to people familiar with the matter. The board is expected to discuss the prospect as soon as this week.
The palace intrigue at one of the world’s largest startups echoes the chaos surrounding Uber Technologies Inc., when the board orchestrated the removal of co-founder Travis Kalanick two years ago. At Uber, after a scandal-plagued year, board member Bill Gurley of Benchmark helped force Kalanick’s resignation, with participation from other investors. Today, the story unfolding at WeWork includes some of the same cast members: Bechmark is a major WeWork investor.