Sonder Holdings co-founder Francis Davidson has stepped down as CEO and as a member of the company’s board of directors, effective immediately, the apartment-style accommodations provider announced Wednesday.
The company named board chairperson Janice Sears, a former Bank of America Securities executive, as interim CEO and said it “intends to immediately initiate a search process to identify Sonder’s next CEO.”
The company in a statement said that “the time is right to transition leadership” now that its full inventory is available to book through Marriott International’s distribution channels. Sonder in August 2024 announced a deal that would incorporate Sonder’s inventory in Marriott’s portfolio, and indicated in a Monday filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that the integration was completed on June 17.
Sonder Raises $18M, Sets Marriott Integration
Davidson, then a student at McGill University, co-founded Sonder in 2014 in Montreal. The company expanded in the burgeoning apartment-style accommodations travel segment in the ensuing years, with Davidson as CEO, and went public in 2022 through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company. Recent years have featured a rockier road, with delayed financial filings and layoffs, but the company viewed the Marriott deal as a key pillar in its effort to reduce losses.
“What started as an idea as a first-year university student in Montreal has now become a leading global brand providing our guests with unique technology and design-forward accommodations,” Davidson said in a Wednesday statement. “With the foundation that we have built, I know it will be an exciting next chapter for Sonder fueled by growth, innovation, and delighting our guests every day.”
Davidson did not indicate what his next step would be.
Sears will continue as chairperson of Sonder’s board, a position she has held since January. She joined Sonder’s board in 2021. Sears spent two decades with Bank of America Merrill Lynch, according to her LinkedIn profile, completing her tenure in 2009 as managing director and Western region head of its real estate, gaming and lodging investment banking group.
“The Board is focused on identifying an outstanding executive to be Sonder’s next CEO to best position the Company to capitalize on the positive trends we are seeing across the business,” Sears said in a statement.
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