23andMe Appoints New Board Members as part of Stem Company Slide

• 23andMe said Monday it appointed three new independent directors to its board.
• All seven of 23andMe’s previous directors resigned in September due to “strategic direction.”
• 23andMe overcomes consumer concerns.

23andMe has appointed three new independent directors to its board following the mass resignation of all seven previous members last month.

In an SEC filing, the biotech company said Monday it added Andre Fernandez, Mark Jensen and Jim Francola to its board of directors. All three appointees will serve on the board’s audit and compensation committees.

Fernandez previously served as WeWork’s chief financial officer from 2022 to 2023. Jensen was a managing partner at consulting firm Deloitte for 10 years before retiring in 2012. From 2012 to 2021, Francola served as CFO of Cloudera, a US-based cloud computing company. before becoming a strategic advisor from 2021 to 2023.

The only other board member is CEO and co-founder Anne Wojcicki.

“I am pleased to welcome these three experienced directors to the 23andMe board of directors and look forward to working with them,” Wojcicki said in a press release.

It was once valued at $6 billion. 23andMe has faced a number of obstacles recently, including a major user data breach in 2023, declining stock prices and consumer privacy issues.

Seven previous board members resigned in September in a letter addressed to Wojcicki, citing company direction.

Wojcicki shared the proposal to take 23andMe private in a July SEC filing, which was reviewed by a special committee formed by the board of directors. The Select Committee responded less than a week later, writing that they were “disappointed” with the proposal.

“After months of work, we expect you to present a fully funded, thorough and actionable proposal that is in the best interests of non-affiliated shareholders,” the letter said.

The ad hoc committee said it would give Wojcicki time to submit a revised proposal. However, the committee said it did not receive a revised proposal in its September resignation letter.

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“While we continue to wholeheartedly support the company’s mission and deeply believe in the value of the personalized health and wellness offerings you have articulated, it is also clear that we disagree on the strategic direction of the company,” the letter said.

In a statement following his appointment, Jensen said the new board was “ready to step in” and “act with urgency” to turn things around at the company.

“23andMe has a great brand and the company remains firmly committed to its mission of helping people access, understand and benefit from the human genome,” he said.

Each new director will receive $1 million in cash compensation, according to the SEC filing.

Representatives for 23andMe did not immediately respond to Business Insider’s request for comment.