Vishal Garg, the founder and former CEO of mortgage lender Better Home & Finance, is actively working to regain his leadership position after being removed from the role on August 3. The board had unanimously voted to replace Garg with Daniel Lewis as CEO, a move that followed a series of controversies surrounding the company and its founder.
Garg gained notoriety in December 2021 when he laid off approximately 900 employees during a virtual meeting, a decision for which he later apologized. The company has since faced financial struggles, with its stock cratering 93 percent and annual sales plummeting. During the pandemic-fueled refinancing boom, the company reached an $8 billion valuation, but its market value now stands at approximately $300 million.
Despite these challenges, Garg asserted that the company was on the verge of a turnaround before his ouster. He attributed recent successes to the implementation of AI for mortgage processing and a new partnership with Neo Home Loans, which he claims doubled productivity and halved loan origination costs. Major firms like Intuit, Coinbase, and OpenAI have also partnered with Better this year.
Garg suggested that Lewis, who joined the board shortly before taking over as CEO, convinced directors that he was not driving the company hard enough. He described Lewis's ideas for cost-saving as sound but criticized his approach to innovation. Garg believes Lewis hoodwinked him into giving him a board seat with the ultimate aim of becoming CEO.
Since Lewis assumed the CEO role, Better Home & Finance's stock has fallen further. Garg, however, remains on the board and claims to have secured enough investor support to force a special board meeting. He has retained attorney Alex Spiro, who sent a letter to the board demanding Garg's reinstatement as CEO. Garg has offered to work for $1 annually until the company is profitable, after which he would transition out of the role. He also proposed a new board composition, with only himself, Michael Farello, and Hugh Frater remaining.
Better Home & Finance has publicly stated that Garg was removed by a unanimous board vote and has labeled his efforts to return as a "costly and distracting campaign."