NEW YORK (JTA) — WeWork co-founder Adam Neumann has stepped down as CEO of the shared office space company, which has suffered a major devaluation amid investors’ fears over the charismatic but unpredictable leader’s control of the firm.
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The company was valued at the beginning of the year at $47 billion, but that figure has fallen to about $15 billion. Investors have expressed concern about the control that Neumann, WeWork’s charismatic but unpredictable leader, has over the firm as well as over its business model and company culture, The New York Times reported.
Last week, WeWork delayed the initial public offering of stock by several months as it seeks to repair its image.
Neumann 40, will become nonexecutive chairman of WeWork’s parent, the We Company, it was announced Tuesday.
Neumann is an Israeli who grew up on a kibbutz. He has been reported to have left a stuffed box of marijuana on a private plane he flew to Israel for the trip back; banned company employees from eating meat, then allegedly got caught eating meat afterward; and threw a lavish party (featuring a member of Run-DMC) just minutes after firing 7 percent of the company’s staff.