WeWork plans to name real estate industry veteran Mathrani CEO

Softbank-backed office sharing firm WeWork plans to name real estate industry veteran Sandeep Mathrani as its new chief executive, people familiar with the matter said on Saturday.

Sebastian Gunningham and Artie Minson who are currently co-CEO's of WeWork parent, The We Company, will remain with the company at least through a transition period, the people said.

The CEO search was handled by the WeWork board without an external executive search firm, the sources said, adding that a couple of search firms were initially considered.

WeWork did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Mathrani will bring much-needed real estate experience to WeWork. He is the former chief executive of Brookfield Properties' retail group, and prior to that he was an executive at real estate firms including Vornado Realty Trust.

Brookfield declined to comment. The company announced in early December that Mathrani would depart Brookfield and that his last day of work would be January 31.

WeWork began its search for a new CEO in November following the departure of co-founder Adam Neumann, who drew criticism for his erratic management style.

WeWork's IPO was shelved last year and the company recorded a steep plunge in valuation, to less than eight billion U.S. dollars from 47 billion U.S. dollars.

The news about Mathrani was reported earlier on Saturday by The Wall Street Journal.

(REUTERS)