Weeks after Better Home & Finance Holding Co. CEO Vishal Garg was ousted from his leadership position and replaced with Daniel Lewis, the company is continuing to announce more significant leadership changes as it marks a new operational chapter.
Better has promoted David Parrish to head of enterprise operations, per an 8-K filing from the company on Tuesday. Parrish previously served as chief information officer and chief information security officer, where he was instrumental in developing Better’s proprietary Tinman platform and AI-powered loan assistant, Betsy.
Chad Smith, who had served as Better’s COO, announced today that he has been appointed CEO of Envoy Mortgageand president of sister company PLACE’s mortgage and financial services division.
In its 8-K, Better also confirmed that Barry Feierstein, who is also listed as a COO for the company, will step down from his roles to “pursue new opportunities.”
“This is not a retreat from the vision that built Better,” the company stated in its release. “It is the next stage of that vision: from invention to disciplined execution.”
The filing also stated that under the terms of the separation agreement, Smith is entitled to a $416,666 lump-sum payment, less applicable taxes and withholdings, equal to five months of his base salary, as well as six months of COBRA premium payments. The company also accelerated the vesting of 10,000 restricted stock units that otherwise would have been forfeited upon his departure.
The company’s mortgage leadership team, which brings a combined 85 years of experience, remains in place. Key leaders include Ryan Grant, senior vice president of growth and strategy; Danny Horanyi, chief operating officer; Jeanette Lee, head of fulfillment; Chris Ledlie, head of production; and Scott Davis, head of sales.
‘Disciplined evolutionary phase’
In a conversation with HousingWire Editor in Chief Sarah Wheeler, Grant said that Better is “going through a very disciplined evolutionary phase right now.”
“Better’s vision [was] to see what was possible in terms of creating technology that removes friction in a process that was very challenging for many years and still is for many today,” Grant said. “That is what set us off on this journey. … We are getting to a place now where we probably need a little less future and a little more focus on current state because the technology is so close to really doing some incredible things, but it takes kind of a hyperfocused moment where we need everybody to focus on what the next six to 12 months is going to be.”
Horayni, co-creator of NEO Home Loans powered by Better, added that the company has no intention to stop investing in its retail or direct-to-consumer businesses.
“It makes a ton of sense for us to take what’s already working, learn best practices from those distribution channels, and then apply them to areas where it would be completely net new revenue for us,” he said.
Parrish reiterated that the company is focusing on “critical” priorities.
“Our employees, our customers [and] our partners should experience faster decisions, clearer escalation paths and better coordination across the company,” he said.
Ongoing financial losses
The leadership changes follow a turbulent period for Better. The company went public in 2023 through a merger with special purpose acquisition company Aurora Acquisition Corp., and its stock has plummeted more than 90% since the debut.
After 11 consecutive quarters of losses, Better had previously told investors it aimed to reach profitability by the end of the third quarter of 2026. But in its Q2 2026 earnings report, Better abandoned its previous target of reaching adjusted EBITDA break-even by September.
The company posted a $14 million adjusted EBITDA loss in the second quarter and said that it expects the loss to widen to $15 million to $18 million in the third quarter as it implements a new strategic plan under Lewis. Loan volume for the company is also expected to decline to a range of $1.375 billion to $1.525 billion in Q3 2026 — down from $1.67 billion in Q2 amid a muted refinance market and uncertainty around several partnership launches.
Chief financial officer Loveen Advani said Better expects elevated mortgage rates to persist in the medium term, while the timing of home equity line of credit (HELOC) partnership launches and the pace of refinancing will determine when the company reaches profitability.
Better ended the quarter with about $102 million in cash and cash equivalents and $10 million in restricted cash.
The battle for control
The battle for control of the company has entered a second month. Following Garg’s departure from the CEO role, he retained the services of attorney Alex Spiro and sent a letter to Better’s board seeking to regain control of the company.
In the letter, Garg proposed working for $1 until Better becomes profitable and buying $30 million of the company’s stock, including $10 million within five trading days. He also called for all directors except himself, Michael Farello and Hugh Frater to resign and proposed a new board focused on profitability and shareholder value.
Garg also said he would help lead a search for a permanent CEO before transitioning to chairman or chief product and innovation officer.
Better’s board, excluding Garg, pushed back and said that it had voted unanimously to remove him as CEO over concerns about his “judgment, temperament and credibility.” The board cited more than $1.5 billion in cumulative GAAP net losses since 2022 and a stock price decline of more than 90% during Garg’s tenure.
The battle continued to escalate. On Aug. 18, Better sued Garg in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, alleging unlawful solicitation and related disclosure violations. Garg opposed the company’s request for a preliminary injunction and temporary restraining order, calling the lawsuit meritless.
On Aug. 25, Garg sued interim CEO Daniel Lewis and six other board members, alleging they improperly entrenched themselves after removing him as CEO. The suit alleges breaches of fiduciary duty and seeks to invalidate the company’s poison pill and special committee.
On Aug. 31, a federal judge declined to immediately halt Garg’s shareholder campaign, allowing him to continue seeking support while the litigation proceeds. The judge did not determine whether Garg violated securities laws, finding Better had not shown the campaign would cause irreparable harm.
On Sept. 3, Garg released a 90-day operating plan as he continued to regain influence through a shareholder consent campaign. The plan targets $2 billion in quarterly funded volume, $7 million in additional monthly revenue and reducing cash burn from $4 million to zero. The board responded with a statement the same day calling the plan “unworkable” and “conspicuously late.”
