# Better CEO Vishal Garg Pushes Turnaround Plan as Board Conflict Intensifies
Vishal Garg, CEO and founder of Better.com, is battling his own board over the mortgage lender's future direction. Garg has launched a consent solicitation asking shareholders to back his turnaround strategy, but the company's special committee has fired back with a call for shareholders to reject his proposal and support the existing board strategy instead.
The fight exposes deep disagreement about how to rescue Better, which has struggled with profitability and repeated workforce cuts. Garg's approach differs fundamentally from what the current board leadership favors, creating a rare public clash between a founder and the governance structure meant to oversee him.
Better.com went public in 2021 through a SPAC merger backed by SoftBank. The company has faced mounting losses, talent exodus, and operational challenges in recent years. The mortgage origination market itself has contracted sharply since the Federal Reserve began raising rates in 2022, squeezing volume and margins across the industry.
Garg's consent solicitation represents an attempt to bypass traditional shareholder vote mechanics. Rather than waiting for an annual meeting, he is asking shareholders directly to vote on his vision. This tactic signals either extreme confidence in his backing or desperation to prevent the board from blocking his plans. The special committee's rapid counterattack suggests the board takes the challenge seriously.
The board's special committee exists specifically to handle conflicts of interest involving company leadership. Its decision to formally recommend shareholders reject Garg's proposal sends a clear signal that multiple directors question the CEO's judgment. Special committees typically wield credibility with institutional investors, who often defer to their recommendations on governance matters.
What Garg's turnaround plan specifically contains remains partially unclear from public filings, but the core dispute centers on company strategy and likely board composition. Better needs to cut costs further, stabilize its mortgage origination business, and demonstrate a path to profitability. Whether Garg or the current board majority has the better plan for achieving this will determine the outcome.
For Better's stakeholders, this conflict creates uncertainty. Mortgage originators like Better depend on investor confidence and lender relationships. Board turmoil can disrupt partnerships and spook clients. If Garg wins the consent solicitation, he gains freedom to restructure leadership and strategy. If the board wins, Garg may face pressure to resign or accept a neutered role.
Better employs thousands of loan officers and support staff. Workers have already endured multiple layoff rounds under Garg's cost-cutting drive. The board battle will influence hiring freezes, compensation, and job security going forward.
For borrowers and prospective customers, the drama matters less than execution. Better's competitive position depends on competitive rates, fast closings, and reliable service. A paralyzed company cannot deliver any of these.
The shareholder vote outcome will reshape Better's trajectory. Garg retains founder credibility and insider knowledge of company operations. The board brings independent judgment and fiduciary oversight. Neither side can claim obvious moral superiority. The result will hinge on which group investors believe can actually stabilize the business and return it to profitability in a hostile rate environment.