WeWork adds woman to board after IPO filing backlash

The We Company, parent of workspace-sharing firm WeWork, announced Wednesday that it will add a woman to its board after facing backlash to the all-male leadership team that was disclosed last month with its initial public offering (IPO).

The company also unwound a $5.9 million payment to Chief Executive Adam Neumann’s company for use of the trademarked word “We” after criticism.

{mosads}“Frances Frei will join our board of directors upon the completion of this offering,” The We Company said in an amended filing for its planned IPO.

“She currently serves as a Professor of Technology and Operations Management at Harvard Business School, and has provided human resources consulting services to The We Company since March 2019.”

The company also said it will add another director to the board within a year of the IPO, “with a commitment to increasing the board’s gender and ethnic diversity.”

WeWork’s first IPO filing included an all-male seven-member board of directors, a makeup that was frowned upon by many investors.

The company, which rents desks and offices in shared workspaces, has grown rapidly and was valued at $47 billion earlier this year.