Vishal Garg Wins Back Better's Board With 52% Shareholder Backing

Vishal Garg is back in charge at Better. The mortgage lender's founder has regained control of its board after winning the support of 52% of shareholders, who voted to remove five sitting directors, among them interim CEO Daniel Lewis.

The vote marks a sharp reversal in the company's leadership. Lewis had been installed as interim chief executive, but the shareholder majority backing Garg's push has now cleared out the directors who stood in the way of the founder's return to the center of the boardroom.

Better says it is finalizing Lewis's successor, which suggests the company wants to settle the question of who runs day-to-day operations quickly rather than leave the interim arrangement in place. No name has been confirmed in the material available so far, and it is not yet clear how much of a role Garg himself will take in the top job versus shaping strategy from the board.

A 52% result is a clear majority but not an overwhelming one. It gives Garg the authority to reshape the board, yet it also signals that a sizable share of investors did not side with him. How he handles that split, and who he picks to lead the company, will matter for investor confidence.

For the wider housing finance market, the stakes are practical. Better has been trying to prove that a technology-driven approach to home loans can survive a long stretch of high rates and uneven mortgage demand. Governance fights tend to distract from that effort, and lenders, partners and borrowers generally prefer stability at the top. A resolved board and a named CEO would go some way toward restoring it.

Attention now turns to the incoming chief executive, the makeup of the reconstituted board, and whether the company can move past the dispute and refocus on originations and profitability.