(Bloomberg) — Embattled online mortgage lender Better is turning to a former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. consumer-banking veteran to help it pursue a public listing just as rising interest rates pressure the business already reeling from a slew of personnel missteps.
The company appointed Harit Talwar as non-executive chairman, according to an internal memo from Chief Executive Officer Vishal Garg seen by Bloomberg News. He starts effective immediately and will “provide strategic direction to achieve Better’s long-term goals,” according to the memo.
Talwar’s appointment comes as Better grapples with hikes in interest rates that weighed on the company’s loan volume, leading it to make staff reductions over the past several months. The cuts sparked backlash after a December round of firings was carried out over Zoom, and Garg took a hiatus from the company for his handling of the situation. In Talwar, Better is getting a banking veteran with more than three decades of experience who built and led Goldman Sachs consumer-lending unit Marcus.
The non-executive chairman position was among leadership roles the company’s board said it would create and fill in the wake of an independent review carried out in the aftermath of the December firings. Talwar’s appointment follows the hiring of Richard Benson-Armer as chief people, performance, and culture officer in March. The company is still looking for a president.
“It is mission-centric, it is customer-centric, it has the track record, and it has challenges. And this is exactly the kind of situation in my career I’ve always jumped in,” Talwar said in a phone interview discussing his new appointment. “There will be challenges, both internal and external, but the goal is to build a business which we are proud of. The goal is to go public.”
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