A close-up of the sign at the entrance to the Silicon Valley headquarters of the outsourcing and freelancing company Upwork, Mountain View, California, May 3, 2019.
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Activist investor Engine Capital has about a 4% stake in the free market Good job and tries to change the company’s management team.
In a letter to Upwork’s board on Friday, Engine said the company needs to address the “fundamental issues” plaguing the platform.
The engine did not call for the resignation of CEO Hayden Brown in a letter obtained by CNBC, but questioned whether the Upwork board had adequate oversight of management.
“Braun is now effectively on his third management team in four years,” Arnaud Ajdler, the engine’s founder, said in the letter. Brown has had three CFOs in four years, the activist said, saying former employees were frustrated by the company’s “lack of strategic clarity and focus.”
The engine tapped several Upwork directors for their long tenure, including chairman Thomas Layton and Greg Gretsch. Splunk CEO Gary Steele is also on the board.
“We also note numerous business relationships between various directors that reduce their independence,” Ajdler wrote. Meanwhile, none of Upwork’s directors have any obvious experience in the staffing industry, the activist said.
The engine said Upwork had to move quickly to simplify the platform, where it was behind its main competitor Fiverrreduce costs and develop enterprise business.
An Upwork representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Upwork shares are down 37% this year and about 85% from their 2021 high. The company’s stock has rallied in the back half of 2020 and into next year as remote work during the pandemic spurred growth in the freelancer market.
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