Chief Executive of Social Finance, an Online Lending Start-Up, to Step Down
Chief Executive of Social Finance, an Online Lending Start-Up, to Step Down
In a letter to employees, sent on Monday evening, Mr. Cagney wrote
that “the combination of HR-related litigation and negative press have become a distraction from the company’s core mission.” Mr. Cagney is stepping down as both chief executive and chairman, and the company said it had begun a search to find a new chief.
In 2012, for example, Mr. Cagney sent sexually explicit text messages to Ms. Munoz, an executive assistant,
according to five people who saw the messages or discussed them with Mr. Cagney and Ms. Munoz.
The company also said on Monday that Mr. Cagney would be replaced immediately as the company’s
chairman by another board member, Tom Hutton, who is an early investor in SoFi
According to interviews, sales documents and correspondence between investors
and company executives, the company said it had raised $90 million in debt financing for one of the loan products that it sold to investors in 2012.
This year, Uber, the ride-hailing company based in San Francisco, has grappled with claims of sexual harassment
and questions over its business tactics, resulting in many of it senior leaders — including its chief executive, Travis Kalanick — leaving their positions.
The spokesman also said that the board investigated a dispute between Mr. Cagney, a married father of two,
and a former employee, Laura Munoz, in 2012, and it found no evidence of a romantic or sexual relationship.
According to interviews with more than 30 people familiar with the company, Mr. Cagney often overstepped personal and business boundaries.
Several former employees said that Mr. Cagney, 46, had inappropriate relationships with SoFi employees, which helped foment a toxic workplace culture.
In a letter to employees, sent on Monday evening, Mr. Cagney wrote
that “the combination of HR-related litigation and negative press have become a distraction from the company’s core mission.” Mr. Cagney is stepping down as both chief executive and chairman, and the company said it had begun a search to find a new chief.
In 2012, for example, Mr. Cagney sent sexually explicit text messages to Ms. Munoz, an executive assistant,
according to five people who saw the messages or discussed them with Mr. Cagney and Ms. Munoz.
The company also said on Monday that Mr. Cagney would be replaced immediately as the company’s
chairman by another board member, Tom Hutton, who is an early investor in SoFi
According to interviews, sales documents and correspondence between investors
and company executives, the company said it had raised $90 million in debt financing for one of the loan products that it sold to investors in 2012.
This year, Uber, the ride-hailing company based in San Francisco, has grappled with claims of sexual harassment
and questions over its business tactics, resulting in many of it senior leaders — including its chief executive, Travis Kalanick — leaving their positions.
The spokesman also said that the board investigated a dispute between Mr. Cagney, a married father of two,
and a former employee, Laura Munoz, in 2012, and it found no evidence of a romantic or sexual relationship.
According to interviews with more than 30 people familiar with the company, Mr. Cagney often overstepped personal and business boundaries.
Several former employees said that Mr. Cagney, 46, had inappropriate relationships with SoFi employees, which helped foment a toxic workplace culture.