The chief executive of women-focused co-working company the Wing,
Jen Cho,
has left the company after fewer than six months in the role.
Ms. Cho declined to comment on her reasons for leaving the company and her next steps.
Office space holding company
PLC, which in February 2021 purchased a majority stake in the Wing for an undisclosed amount, has named its group chief commercial officer
Fatima Koning
as the company’s new chief executive. She will continue to hold the commercial chief role, IWG said.
Ms. Cho joined the Wing as its chief marketing officer last July and was promoted to the role of CEO in February.
Taking the top job meant she became one of only a handful of marketing executives who have made the leap to CEO roles. Other members of that club include
Kristin Lemkau,
who in 2019 was promoted from CMO of
& Co. to chief executive of J.P. Morgan Wealth Management and
Paul Chibe,
the chief executive officer of Pabst Brewing Co. and former U.S. chief marketing officer of
Ms. Cho’s promotion followed a flurry of turmoil at the Wing. She succeeded co-founder
Lauren Kassan,
who took the role in the spring of 2021 following the 2020 departure of her co-founder and former CEO,
Audrey Gelman.
Ms. Gelman resigned in the wake of a series of reports alleging staff mistreatment and the closure of all 11 of its locations in the early months of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Ms. Kassan, who was set to remain on the Wing’s board after relinquishing the CEO job, is no longer involved with the business, a Wing spokeswoman said.
Ms. Cho during her five-month tenure oversaw the roll-out of a tiered membership system, which offers plans that allow five or 10 visits a month to any of the Wing’s locations, to complement the traditional unlimited-entry offer. The move was designed to better fit the recent trend of working some days at home and others in an office.
The company, which now operates six U.S. co-working spaces, will continue to run the tiered offer, the Wing spokeswoman said. The co-working firm’s membership saw double-digit percentage growth between the first and second quarters of this year, she added, declining to elaborate on specific membership numbers.
Ms. Cho had been tasked with expanding the company’s presence internationally and had plans to open six locations in Europe by the end of 2022, starting with a new location in Amsterdam.
European expansion remains a priority for the Wing, according to the company spokeswoman, who declined to comment on whether the company was still on track to open six locations in Europe.
Ms. Koning, the new CEO, lives in Amsterdam and will continue to be based there, the spokeswoman said.
Write to Katie Deighton at [email protected]
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