Mark Lapidus, WeWork’s former head of global real estate and one of the company’s earliest employees, has left the company amid a leadership shakeup in the real estate department, sources told The Real Deal.
A spokesperson for WeWork confirmed that Lapidus left the company. The departure comes as WeWork is in talks with SoftBank for an investment that could total $20 billion.
Lapidus, who had been with the company since 2012, oversaw WeWork’s expansion from just a few small spaces to become the largest private office tenant in Manhattan.
A source close to him said he decided to leave because he was looking for a new challenge after six years at the firm. Sources close to WeWork say he had already been less involved in the company’s operations in recent months.
WeWork is promoting general counsel Peter Greenspan to the position of global head of real estate. The company’s real estate attorney Pam Swidler was promoted to the position of global head of real estate transactions.
Lapidus last year paid $2.8 million to buy a three-bedroom co-op on the Upper East Side.
Earlier this year, WeWork signed a lease for 45,000 square feet at 71 Fifth Avenue, a property that is partly owned by Lapidus’ family.
Lapidus isn’t the first real estate executive to depart the company. In September 2015, WeWork’s co-head of real estate (alongside Lapidus) Todd Bassen left the firm after just three months on the job. In 2016, WeWork fired executive Sean Black after he made disparaging remarks about Jersey City, which was offering the company tax incentives to lure it across the Hudson River.