SmartRent CEO Shane Paladin Steps Down

After only a few weeks on the job, SmartRent’s chief executive officer and president is already out.

The smart home company announced on Thursday that Shane Paladin stepped down from the dual roles, as well as from the company’s board of directors, effective immediately. No reason was given for the exit, though the resignation came at the request of the board.

Paladin will serve in an advisory capacity for three months to ensure a smooth transition.

“The Board continues to believe that SmartRent has a tremendous opportunity in front of us, underpinned by our leading market position and the quality of our products and services,” board chair John Dorman said in a statement.

The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Real Deal.

Dorman will serve as the interim CEO while the company looks for its next permanent chief executive. The company has tapped an executive search firm to assist in the hunt.

It’s an abrupt shift for SmartRent, which announced Paladin’s appointment as CEO near the end of January. He didn’t start until late February, meaning he’d been on the job for less than two months. The press release announcing his appointment at SmartRent is no longer on the company website.

Prior to that, Paladin led Siteimprove, a private equity-backed marketing technology SaaS company.

In addition to the leadership change, the company set downward expectations for its first quarter earnings. On a preliminary basis, it projected total revenue between $40.5 million and $41.5 million for the first quarter, which would represent a decrease of 18 to 20 percent year over year.

In the fourth quarter, the company’s total revenue was down 41 percent year over year, hitting $35.4 million. The company attributed the decline to a drop in units shipped and new units deployed.

“In the coming months, I look forward to meeting with customers, employees and other stakeholders to develop and refine our strategic roadmap,” Paladin said in the fourth-quarter earnings release, commentary that did not age well.

SmartRent was founded in 2017 by Colony Starwood Homes alum Lucas Haldeman and provides software and hardware solutions to managers of automated smart home communities. It went public in 2021 in a $2.2 billion merger with a Fifth Wall-sponsored blank-check firm.

The share price has fallen nearly 94 percent since going public, trading as of 10:45 AM ET on Friday at a measly $0.69 per share. The stock is down more than 60 percent year-to-date. Following the news, the stock saw its sharpest dip, bringing its price below $1.