- Wework is in talks with T-Mobile US Inc. Chief Executive John Legere for the CEO position
- Under his tenure as CEO, T-Mobile has evolved from a weak U.S. wireless carrier No. 4 to a strong No. 3
- WeWork has failed severely in going public in the last couple of months
WeWork is looking for a new chief executive to turn around the struggling co-working company, said people that are familiar with the issue. The candidates include T-Mobile US Inc. Chief Executive John Legere, who spoke about the position with WeWork.
The parent of WeWork, formally known as We Company, is looking for a CEO who can stabilize the company after their co-founder Adam Neumann’s turbulent tenure. SoftBank Group Corp. bought a majority stake in the company in a bailout last month following WeWork’s failed attempt at an initial public offering, severing many ties with Mr. Neumann.
The startup is looking for a new manager that will be able to join as soon as January, some people said. There is no assurance that if T-Mobile completes its planned takeover of Sprint Corp. next year, Mr. Legere, who stands to gain a windfall, will accept the job or that another nominee will not emerge. However, Wework is also in touch with a few other potential candidates.
Last year, T-Mobile paid Mr Legere $66.5 million and was eligible for up to $109 million if the company met certain performance goals. Once T-Mobile signed the Sprint acquisition deal, Mr Legere’s employment contract was also extended to April 30th, 2020.
Mr Legere has already cleaned up messes. He spent a decade at Global Crossing, taking him through bankruptcy and eventually selling in 2011.
Under his tenure as CEO, T-Mobile has evolved from a weak U.S. wireless carrier No. 4 to a strong No. 3 that consistently attracts customers from bigger AT&T and Verizon Communications Inc. rivals.
In September, Adam Neumann, the former CEO of WeWork, stepped down under pressure from investors over apparent conflicts of interest and IPO process mismanagement. Artie Minson and Sebastian Gunningham, two WeWork veterans, took over as co-CEOs. Last month, the pair secured the board’s multimillion-dollar severance packages.
WeWork needs to quickly rehabilitate the company and fill empty space in its offices despite receiving rescue funding from SoftBank a few weeks ago. The company is expected to refuse thousands of employees in the near future.
In the past, Legere and Claure, an executive of SoftBank tasked with cleaning up WeWork, often sparred. Before becoming a possible merger partner, Claure, Sprint’s former CEO, was a T-Mobile foe. In 2016, on Facebook, he called Legere “a con artist.” During one point, Legere ordered Claure to “go back to the kiddie pool.” But more recently, the two executives seemed more cooperative in advocating for the Sprint-T-Mobile tie-up. They’ve been seen jogging together in Washington in May.
Seeing the recent downfall and prolonged IPO process of WeWork, it becomes extremely important for the Startup to have a promising candidate for the top position whose decisions can help in the smooth workflow throughout the company. John Legere can definitely be a good choice for the company.
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