WeWork In Talks To Hire T-Mobile CEO John Legere

According to The Wall Street Journal, WeWork is in discussions with T-Mobile CEO John Legere to take over leadership of the troubled office-sharing startup (Warning: source paywalled; alternative source). From the report: WeWork's parent, formally known as We Co., is searching for a CEO who can stabilize the company following the erratic tenure of its co-founder Adam Neumann. After WeWork's failed attempt at an initial public offering, SoftBank Group Corp. bought a majority stake in the company last month in a bailout, severing most ties with Mr. Neumann. The startup is looking for a new leader who could join as soon as January, some of the people said. There is no guarantee that Mr. Legere, who stands to receive a windfall if T-Mobile completes its proposed takeover of Sprint Corp. next year, would accept the position or that another candidate won't emerge.

Like Mr. Neumann, Mr. Legere is known as an unconventional executive. The 61-year-old has spent the past six years running T-Mobile with a pugnacious style, trashing his rivals on Twitter as "Dumb and Dumber," using foul language and dressing in the company's signature magenta. He has turned around T-Mobile's operations, luring millions of cellphone customers from larger players and initiating the pending takeover of Sprint. Two WeWork executives, Artie Minson and Sebastian Gunningham, have served as co-CEOs since September when Mr. Neumann resigned under pressure as chief executive. SoftBank executives are seeking to replace the duo with a high-profile candidate who they hope can turn the company around with an eye toward potentially taking it public in the future, the people said.