WeWork has appointed former Cushman & Wakefield executive John Santora as CEO and a director of the company, effective June 12, it said in a press release Tuesday. The flexible workspace provider also has successfully completed its operational and financial restructuring, emerging from bankruptcy in the U.S and Canada, the release said.
Santora had worked for Cushman & Wakefield for over 40 years, serving as the real estate services firm’s CEO of North America and, most recently, as Tri-State region chairman, the release said.
Cushman & Wakefield and WeWork had a long-standing relationship prior to Santora’s appointment. The real estate services firm formed an exclusive strategic partnership and invested $150 million in WeWork when it went public at an $8 billion valuation in late 2021.
That investment lost significant value when WeWork declared bankruptcy in November. At the time of that filing, Cushman & Wakefield CFO Neil Johnston said he did not anticipate WeWork’s bankruptcy to significantly affect its business.
Santora’s appointment follows the resignation of former WeWork CEO and Director David Tolley, who captained the organization through a months long restructuring process that included a strategy revamp and exits from several locations, Reuters reported.
WeWork named Tolley its CEO last October, weeks before the company filed for Chapter 11 protection, reporting 69 underperforming commercial real estate leases and liabilities of between $10 billion and $50 billion.
In April, WeWork obtained court approval of its financial and operational restructuring. In its disclosure statement, the company said it had secured a $450 million new-money financing facility that would support operations during its Chapter 11 cases and pave the way for a smooth bankruptcy exit. At that time, WeWork said it expected to shed $4 billion in outstanding, pre-petition debt obligations, per an April 29 news release.
As part of the restructuring, in 2023 property management and real estate investment software firm Yardi Systems provided capital to WeWork in exchange for a majority stake in the company. The two companies had formed a technology partnership in 2022.
