WeWork Is Profitable Again — and Its CEO Wants It in Sport Jackets

WeWork returned to profitability in 2025 on $2.3 billion in revenue, capping a turnaround that began when John Santora took over as CEO in June 2024, just as the company emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Santora, a 47-year veteran of Chicago-based commercial real estate giant Cushman & Wakefield, inherited a company that had cut more than $4 billion in debt and roughly $12 billion in future rent obligations through its court restructuring. The bankruptcy, completed shortly before his arrival, closed out years of financial turmoil and controversy under cofounder Adam Neumann.

The numbers behind that collapse were staggering. WeWork hit a $47 billion valuation in 2019, then buckled under costly leases, mounting losses and a failed initial public offering. It became a cautionary tale of unchecked growth.

How has Santora changed the company?

The changes started with the dress code. On his first days in the job, Santora noticed a wardrobe culture that clashed with his old-school aesthetic.

"It was the middle of June, and [WeWork staffers were wearing] everything from jeans to pajamas and slippers and shorts and so forth," he told Business Insider.

His fix was incremental rather than sweeping. "There are lot more sport jackets around the office," he said. The 47-year Cushman & Wakefield veteran has adjusted his own style, too. "On Fridays, I'll actually sometimes wear sneakers," he said. "I'm a suit-and-tie, buttoned-up real estate person, but I'm good now."

Structurally, Santora gave regional presidents responsibility for profitability, not just sales and operations. He has also pushed the company's design away from the informal, loud aesthetics of its early days toward a quieter, more corporate style — while preserving the fundamental flexible-workspace model he still views as a valuable alternative to traditional corporate real estate.

What was the hardest part of the rebuild?

Trust. Santora says restoring confidence among employees, clients and landlords has been the biggest challenge. He held meetings with workers to explain his plans and assure them the company had sufficient capital to cover payroll and rent. With clients and landlords, he leaned on relationships built over decades at Cushman & Wakefield.

Why does he think WeWork can thrive now?

Economic uncertainty is a tailwind, not a threat, in Santora's framing.

"Not knowing how much space you need or how many employees you're going to have—that is kind of in our sweet spot," he said.

One client segment stands out: about 300 artificial intelligence companies now occupy WeWork spaces worldwide, ranging from tiny startups to large brand-name businesses, according to Santora.

What did the turnaround teach him?

Rebuilding has meant balancing structure and discipline against the versatility that made WeWork appealing in the first place. That balancing act taught Santora something he hadn't fully appreciated before arriving: the importance of flexibility.

"I mean, I saw it, but now I live it. And I see how important it is," he said.

With profitability restored, a slimmer lease book and AI tenants filling its desks, WeWork enters its post-bankruptcy era testing whether discipline and flexibility can coexist as a business model rather than a management slogan.