Could WeWork hire T-Mobile CEO John Legere?
In the wake of its failed IPO, WeWork's parent company is in talks to hire T-Mobile CEO John Legere as its own new chief executive, according to the Wall Street Journal. We Co. is reportedly searching for a new CEO who can turn the troubled company around and potentially renew its prospects for a successful public offering.
WeWork scrapped IPO last month, in part because of a series of reports about the dubious activities of its then-CEO Adam Neumann. A Wall Street Journal article claimed, among other things, that Neumann was known for partying on the job and borrowing heavily against his stock. After Neumann resigned under pressure in September, WeWork executives Artie Minson and Sebastian Gunningham took over as co-CEOs.
Meanwhile, the company has also lacked a clear path to profitability. The office-sharing startup posted an operational loss of $1.37 billion in the first half of this year.
Just months ago, WeWork was valued at $47 billion; its valuation is now a fraction of that. Japanese giant SoftBank Group posted its worst quarter ever due to its investments in WeWork. Softbank now owns a majority stake in the company.
Legere, who regularly wears bright pink T-Mobile t-shirts, is known as an eccentric CEO in his own right. Still, T-Mobile has performed well under Legere's leadership as it competes against larger rivals. Last month, the telecom reported that it continues to outpace Verizon and AT&T in adding subscribers. T-Mobile has also accelerated the launch of its 5G network with nationwide service by the end of the year. Meanwhile, the merger between T-Mobile and Sprint has made some progress, winning FCC approval, and Legere said last month he expects the deal to close in early 2020.
Prior and related coverage:
- WeWork scraps plan to enter the public stock market
- WeWork and Uber drag SoftBank Group into historic negative territory
- T-Mobile Q3: 1.7 million net adds, earnings better than expected, revenue shy of estimates
- Tech chiefs come out top in CEO list, but Facebook's Zuckerberg slides down the rankings
- FCC publishes approval of merger of T-Mobile and Sprint