- Push-out Score determined
- After less than four years in the position
- Thanks for Beals
- Doug Francis taking over temporarily
- Search for a successor
(exechange) — Irvine, California, November 7, 2022 — Chris Beals, chief executive of WM Technology, leaves his position. As announced by WM Technology Inc. in a news release and in a regulatory filing published on Monday, November 7, 2022, Christopher (Chris) Beals leaves his post as chief executive officer at the technology and software infrastructure provider to the cannabis industry, after less than four years in the role, effective immediately.
WM Technology will undertake a search for a successor.
Chris Beals’s duties as CEO will be taken over temporarily by Douglas (Doug) Francis, most recently Executive Chair at WM Technology Inc.
“To position the Company for its next phase of growth”
WM Technology did not give an explicit reason for Chris Beals’s departure from the CEO post. WM Technology said: “WM Technology, Inc. (“WM Technology” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq: MAPS), a leading technology and software infrastructure provider to the cannabis industry, today announced its financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2022 and a leadership transition to position the Company for its next phase of growth.”
Precise information regarding Chris Beals’s future plans was not immediately available.
“Step down/resignation”
WM Technology said: “The Company announced that Doug Francis, co-founder and Executive Chair, will be taking a more active role in leading the Company. Mr. Francis succeeds Chris Beals, who has decided to step down from his role as Chief Executive Officer and from the Board of Directors.”
WM Technology further said: “On November 3, 2022, Chris Beals, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and director, tendered his resignation from his role as Chief Executive Officer and from the Board of Directors, effective November 7, 2022.”
Share price decline since November 2021
The announcement follows a decline in WM Technology Inc.’s share price of 85% since November 2021.
In the position of CEO since 2019
Chris Beals became CEO of the Company in 2019.
Beals has served as the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and as a member of the Board since June 2021.
Beals served as WM Holding Company, LLC’s (“WMH LLC” and when referred to in its pre-Business Combination capacity, “Legacy WMH”) Chief Executive Officer from March 2019 to June 2021 and as a member of its board of managers since October 2015.
Beals previously served as Legacy WMH’s General Counsel from September 2015, and Legacy WMH’s President from February 2016 to March 2019.
Beals previously served as Senior Vice President of Colbeck Capital Management from December 2014 to August 2015 and Senior Corporate Counsel & Data Privacy Officer at T-Systems International GmbH from February 2013 to December 2014.
He also previously worked as an associate at Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP and Covington & Burling LLP.
Beals holds a B.S. in Systems Engineering and a B.A. in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania and a J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School.
Push-out Score determined
The Push-out Score™ determined by exechange gauges the pressure surrounding Chris Beals’s move on a scale of 0 to 10.
exechange reached out to WM Technology and offered the company the opportunity to comment on the score.
Read the full story in the exechange report 46.2022 ($).