The CEO of Better Homes & Finance — who notoriously laid off 900 employees on a company Zoom call before Christmas in 2021 — says he feels tricked, as he was just fired and replaced. Vishal Garg, who made headlines in 2021 for the cruel firings of hundreds of employees at the digital mortgage company, was let go from Better, which he founded and led as CEO, on August 3, CNN reported. Hedge fund manager Daniel Lewis was then immediately named as the company’s interim CEO — even though he had only been brought onto the board a week earlier.
Within that week, Garg says that Lewis convinced the board to oust him. Garg says Lewis then convinced the board to name him as the new CEO. He praised us on X and used that to get on our board and win our confidences.” The digital mortgage company had seen numerous setbacks over the years under Garg’s leadership — excluding the catastrophic layoffs, which gained nationwide attention and resulted in the website being flooded with negative reviews.
While Better held an $8 million valuation during the COVID-19 pandemic amidst a refinancing boom and low interest rates, it is now valued at only $300 million, according to the report. Despite the troubles, Garg said he was on the precipice of turning fortunes around for the company. While sales dropped from $1.5 billion in 2021 to $70 million in 2023, this year Better is on pace to deliver $200 million in sales, Garg told the outlet.
That is in part because of its AI models, which it uses to help quickly process mortgages — something that would’ve taken dozens of employees several days to do just years ago. We’ve tripled loan volume. We’re close to profitability,” Garg said.
I care about delivering savings to people and helping them live the American Dream. So when shareholders said, ‘You need to take a back seat,’ I complied,” Garg said. Garg added: “I suspect he always wanted to become CEO.
The board made a mistake.” Investors may agree with Garg’s read on the situation. The company’s stock had fallen 45 percent since Lewis was named as the new CEO. In the days since, Garg retained a lawyer to try to help him win back his job.
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