Since April, I have been out on paternity leave and in full-out parent mode: going to doctors appointments, sleeping in a delivery room, cleaning breastfeeding pumps, learning to coach soccer, changing a lot of diapers.
I have also been doing lots of thinking. Firstly, I want to acknowledge how incredibly fortunate I am to have a support structure that enabled me to be with my family while we welcomed our second daughter. I could not be more thankful to the leadership team at WeWork for allowing me to be with my family, especially through such an important period.
I let the team know a while ago that I was not planning to come back from my leave but could not find the right time to share this news more broadly. When CASE first started consulting at WeWork there were a few hundred thousand square feet, in just 4 years we grew that to opening 2 million square feet and selling 3 million square feet a month! The learning, friendships, achievements and impact are things I am very proud of and I will cherish them for the rest of my life. It has been an absolutely incredible ride and I‘m very grateful to the team I got to be a part of.
During my leave, I have had the time and space to think about what I want to do next and have decided I am going to start a new company. I believe everyone deserves a meaningful career and I want to make that happen for as many people as I can. Although I’m not yet 100% clear on the specifics, I know that it will involve me doing what I enjoy the most, which is rolling up my sleeves and building technology that gives people the tools and support they need to succeed at work. Starting a company again will give me the ability to build a culture that supports our intentions as a family and my compulsion to work on a purpose I really care about.
When I look back at the last 11 years of CASE and WeWork, I was happiest when I was building things that customers loved with people that I shared a mission and purpose with. I’m excited to start this next chapter, to be in that mindset, and to help others build meaningful careers.
