What happened
People with knowledge of the vote say Garg has gathered more than 51% of the written consents required to eject five of the eight sitting directors. He kicked off the proxy push after his August ouster from the CEO role and remains on the board.
Who could be out, and who might step in
Should the count stand, those targeted for removal would include interim CEO Daniel Lewis, who founded Orange Capital, plus board chair Harit Talwar and directors Bhaskar Menon, Arnaud Massenet, and Prabhu Narsimhan, according to the people familiar with the matter. A company representative declined to comment.
According to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Garg aims to retain his seat and two other directors, then fill the open spots with candidates of their choosing. To date he has put forward two nominees: Bing Gordon, a partner at Kleiner Perkins and previously on Amazon.com's board, and Steve Sarracino, who started Activant Capital and earlier served on Better's board.
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What Garg is planning next
Garg plans to bring in an executive from a leading advisory firm with experience in mortgage origination and servicing to serve as interim CEO in place of Lewis. His lawyer, Alex Spiro of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, called the outcome a milestone, saying, "This historic victory serves the best interests of every Better shareholder," and adding, "No public CEO has ever been pushed out, litigated the issue, and won his way back in two months. Vishal Garg has been vindicated."
Why it matters for your money
Better is still digging out of a profitability hole. Last month it reported a $30.6 million net loss for the second quarter, a 16% improvement from a year earlier. The share price slump over the past year and the $194 million market cap show how little cushion is left. A board shakeup paired with a new interim CEO could reset the story, but until execution improves, the company's results - not the headlines - will drive where the stock settles.
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