Mike Cagney, the chief executive officer of online lender Social Finance, better known as SoFi, will be leaving his role at the end of this year.
Cagney’s departure, as reported yesterday by The New York Times, follows several lawsuits for sexual harassment and wrongful termination filed against the lending startup in 2017.
Cagney, who will also be stepping down from his role as SoFi’s chairman, noted that the lawsuits had become “a distraction from the company’s core mission” in a letter sent out to employees yesterday.
Cagney’s impending departure follows the path of Silicon Valley tech executives such as Travis Kalanick of Uber and Dave McClure of 500 Startups, who both left their respective companies this year among reports of harassment and a toxic work culture.
Cagney’s role as chairman will be filled by venture capitalist Tom Hutton, an early investor in SoFi, which quickly grew to become a fintech unicorn, currently valued at $4.3 billion. Cagney will continue to fill the role of CEO until the company has found a replacement.
Read more at the New York Times, TechCrunch, and Reuters.