2 weeks ago
Indian-Origin CEO Who Fired 900 on Zoom Demands Job Back
A man named Vishal Garg used to be the boss of a company called Better, which helps people get home loans.
In 2021, he fired about 900 workers over a video call, right before Christmas, and many people thought that was very unkind.
Now Garg has been fired from his own job as the boss.
The company's board chose a new boss named Daniel Lewis, who manages hedge funds.
Garg says Lewis tricked him by pretending to like the company so the board would trust him.
About a week after Lewis joined the board, the other directors voted to fire Garg.
The board said Garg made poor decisions and that the company lost more than $1.5 billion while he was in charge.
Garg has hired a famous lawyer to help him get his job back.
He even offered to work for only one dollar a year until the company starts making money again.
Vishal Garg was removed as CEO of Better Home & Finance Holding Company on August 3 and replaced by hedge fund manager Daniel Lewis.
Garg alleges Lewis 'hoodwinked' him by praising the company, joining the board on July 27 and convincing directors to oust him about a week later.
The board voted unanimously, other than Garg, to terminate him, citing concerns about his judgement, temperament, credibility and his delay of the quarterly filing.
Better reported cumulative GAAP losses of more than $1.5 billion since 2022 and a stock price decline of over 90 percent under Garg's leadership.
Garg, who fired about 900 employees (9 percent of the workforce) on a Zoom call in December 2021, has hired lawyer Alex Spiro (reported in one article as Alex Sapiro) and offered to work for $1 a year to be reinstated.
- Who
- Vishal Garg, Indian-origin founder and former CEO of Better Home & Finance Holding Company; Daniel Lewis, the hedge fund manager who replaced him; and the company's board.
- What
- Garg was removed as CEO and is demanding reinstatement, alleging that Lewis hoodwinked the board into ousting him.
- Where
- At Better Home & Finance (Better.com), a US-based online mortgage company.
- When
- Garg was terminated on August 3, nearly five years after the December 2021 Zoom layoffs; Lewis joined the board on July 27.
- Why
- The board said concerns over Garg's judgement, temperament, credibility and governance, plus heavy losses and a stock decline, made him unfit to lead; Garg calls the decision a mistake.
Garg's Defense
Board and Lewis's Position
Removal as CEO
Garg's Defense
Garg says Lewis hoodwinked the board and that terminating him was a mistake; he has formally demanded reinstatement as CEO.
Board and Lewis's Position
The board says Garg is no longer fit to lead, citing concerns about his judgement, temperament and credibility, and voted unanimously (other than Garg) to remove him.
Company performance
Garg's Defense
Garg says the company tripled loan volume and is close to profitability, and that 'the future still remains very bright for Better,' while acknowledging execution hasn't been perfect.
Board and Lewis's Position
Better points to cumulative GAAP losses of more than $1.5 billion since 2022 and a stock price fall of over 90 percent under Garg's leadership.
Lewis's role and ideas
Garg's Defense
Garg says Lewis's cost-saving ideas were good but his innovation ideas were not, and suspects Lewis always wanted to become CEO.
Board and Lewis's Position
Lewis presented cost-saving and profitability ideas that convinced directors to name him CEO roughly a week after he joined the board on July 27.
Key facts
- Company
- Better Home & Finance Holding Company (Better.com)
- Ousted CEO
- Vishal Garg
- New CEO
- Daniel Lewis
- Date of termination
- August 3
- 2021 Zoom layoffs
- About 900 employees (~9% of workforce), announced December 6
- Cumulative GAAP losses since 2022
- More than $1.5 billion
- Stock decline under Garg
- More than 90 percent
- Garg's reinstatement offer
- Work for $1 per year until Better becomes profitable
Quotes
Vishal Garg
Former CEO of Better Home & Finance
“"It's an acknowledgment that I've been doing this for 10 years, but execution hasn't been perfect," he said. "I hope it gets resolved. I think the future still remains very bright for Better."”
livemint.com
NDTV
“We’re winning. We’ve tripled loan volume. We’re close to profitability. We were at the 5-yard line after taking the ball all the way down the field from the other side.”
livemint.com
Sources
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