Vishal Garg, the former CEO of Better Home & Finance, is seeking to regain his position after being fired on August 3. Garg had previously made headlines for laying off 900 employees on a company Zoom call just before the 2021 holiday season.

Background

Better Home & Finance, an AI mortgage company, had been experiencing significant financial difficulties, with its market value plummeting from $8 billion to $300 million. Despite this, Garg claims that the company was on the verge of a turnaround, with annual sales expected to reach $200 million this year.

Garg attributes the company’s potential turnaround to its partnership with Neo Home Loans, which has doubled productivity and reduced loan origination costs by 50%. Additionally, the company has developed a strong home equity line of credit business and has partnered with Intuit, Coinbase, and OpenAI to power their mortgage services.

Ouster and Aftermath

Garg was replaced by Daniel Lewis, a hedge fund manager with a mixed track record of success. Lewis had been appointed to the company’s board just a week prior to Garg’s ousting. Garg claims that Lewis had been secretly planning to take over as CEO and had convinced the board to fire him.

Since Lewis took over, the company’s stock has fallen by 45%. Garg has retained a lawyer and is demanding that the board reinstate him as CEO. He has also offered to work for $1 a year until the company returns to profitability.

Original reporting: KEYT (Ventura/Santa Barbara) — read the source article.