CEO who fired 900 workers on Zoom is fighting to take his job back

# Vishal Garg Seeks Comeback at Better After Sudden CEO Ouster

Vishal Garg, the founder and former chief executive of Better Home & Finance, is seeking to regain control of the mortgage company just days after being removed from the top position. Garg, who became widely known after dismissing roughly 900 employees during a controversial Zoom call shortly before Christmas in 2021, was ousted as CEO on August 3. He was replaced by Daniel Lewis, who had joined Better’s board only days earlier. Garg now argues that Lewis was not transparent about his intentions when the two previously worked together and believes the board made a mistake by removing him. “He hoodwinked me,” Garg said, accusing Lewis of gaining his confidence while privately pursuing a leadership change. Garg said Lewis had previously praised Better’s strategy and publicly supported the company before joining its board. The sudden leadership change comes as Better attempts to rebuild its business after a dramatic downturn in the mortgage market. During the pandemic-era housing boom, Better was valued at roughly $8 billion as historically low mortgage rates drove refinancing demand. The company’s fortunes changed as interest rates increased and refinancing activity collapsed. Better’s annual sales plunged from about $1.5 billion in 2021 to approximately $70 million in 2023. Garg, however, believes the company has started to recover and expects revenue to reach around $200 million this year. He attributes part of the turnaround to Better’s increasing use of artificial intelligence in mortgage processing. According to Garg, AI-powered systems can complete work that previously required dozens of employees over several days. Better has also partnered with Neo Home Loans, which Garg says helped double productivity while reducing loan origination costs by roughly 50%. The company has expanded its business relationships as well, working with companies including Intuit, Coinbase and OpenAI on mortgage-related services. Better has also continued developing its home equity line of credit business as it searches for new sources of growth. Garg’s attempt to return, however, comes amid a history of controversy surrounding his leadership. The 2021 mass layoffs generated widespread criticism and resulted in Garg taking a leave of absence. Better also faced a whistleblower lawsuit that was later dropped and an investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that did not lead to action against the company. Its 2023 SPAC merger was followed by a severe decline in its stock price, while the company continued to struggle with losses. Garg has acknowledged that his management style has been demanding and that the mass layoffs significantly damaged his reputation. Despite those controversies, he now argues that Better’s recent progress should be considered when evaluating his leadership. Garg said Lewis initially approached him around six months ago with ideas for reducing costs and improving profitability. While Garg agreed with some of Lewis’ cost-saving proposals, he said the two disagreed over how the company should approach innovation. Lewis formally joined Better’s board on July 27 and became CEO less than a week later. After taking the position, Lewis posted on X that Better would not exist without Garg, adding that the company’s history demanded respect for its founder. Garg initially said he accepted the board’s decision and maintained that his priority was building Better rather than retaining his title. He now says investors contacted him after his removal and encouraged him to return. Garg claims he has sufficient Class B shares with special voting rights, including holdings associated with early investors who support him, to challenge the current leadership structure. To strengthen his effort, Garg has hired prominent attorney Alex Spiro of Quinn Emanuel and sent a letter to Better’s board demanding reinstatement. He has also offered to work for $1 a year until the company becomes profitable, after which he says he would eventually step away from the CEO role. Better’s recent stock performance has become another element of Garg’s argument, with shares reportedly falling sharply since Lewis assumed leadership. Garg says the decline reinforces his belief that the board acted prematurely by removing him. The battle now places Better at the center of a high-stakes dispute over leadership, strategy and the future direction of the mortgage company. Garg maintains that Better is finally beginning to recover after years of setbacks and believes his experience and AI-focused strategy could help accelerate that progress. Whether shareholders and the board agree remains uncertain, but Garg’s latest move shows that his departure from Better may be far from final. For the founder, the fight is increasingly about proving that the company he built over a decade still has significant potential rather than simply reclaiming the CEO title.