Two Top Better Execs Exit After Controversial CEO’s Return

Things are getting worse for Better.

On Thursday, news broke that the online mortgage originator's EVP of Customer Experience, Sales and Operations Sarah Pierce and SVP of Capital Markets and Growth Emanuel Santa-Donato had left the company.

The twin exits closely follow the return of controversial CEO Vishal Garg, who had temporarily stepped back after blundering a 900-employee layoff in early December 2021.

While Garg was out, the company hired an independent third-party firm to conduct a leadership and cultural assessment and appointed CFO Kevin Ryan to manage the company's day-to-day decisions. Garg resumed his role at the New York-based company in mid-January.

The two executives were early employees at Better and both worked their way up from lower-level positions. Santa-Donato first joined as a Capital Markets Associate in 2016 (two years after the company was founded) after starting his career on Wall Street. Pierce also joined the company six years ago as a Growth Associate after founding her own alcoholic beverage company, called TIQO Beverage.

"Yesterday was my last day at Better.com," Pierce shared on LinkedIn. "To the current and past employees at Better, I want to say how grateful I am for our time together. Throughout my time, I would always get asked "what keeps you at Better?" From my first day to my last, my answer never changed: the people."

On Monday, Santa-Donato posted on LinkedIn, "These past six years have been an incredible journey, beyond what I could have dreamed of when making the transition from a large hedge fund into a small, unknown startup." He continued saying that the employees still at Better have his full support "even if it’s cheering from the sidelines," and that he will "be spending the next few weeks reconnecting, decompressing, and exchanging ideas."

Santa-Donato and Pierce aren't the only ones leaving Better after Garg's return. According to TechCrunch, employees at every level are jumping ship, even if it means leaving potentially millions of dollars in equity behind ahead of its public debut.

Pierce addressed this employee exodus in her post, saying, "And to the people who have left Better — it has been so inspiring to see the unbelievable steps you are taking in your careers and amazing companies you are joining."

Garg's return to Better's top spot and the ensuing cultural and leadership crisis at Better will likely force the company to push out its plans to go public even farther than it hoped. The proptech company had initially expected to go public via a SPAC merger in Q4 2021 but delayed the closing date following the bad press and turmoil spurred by Garg's callous layoffs.