Mark Dixon steps down
as CEO of IWG

International Workplace Group (IWG) founder, Mark Dixon, is stepping down as Chief Executive Officer, after nearly four decades at the helm of the flexible workspace giant. Taking the reins is Christian Schmitz, who joined the business last year and most recently served as Global Head of Regions. Here’s everything you need to know…

Under the leadership reshuffle, Dixon will transition to Executive Chairman, whilst Schmitz takes over the role of CEO. Meanwhile, IWG’s existing chairman, Douglas Sutherland, will assume the newly created role of Deputy Chairman.

The shake-up marks the end of an era at IWG. Dixon founded the business as Regus in 1989, and has spent almost forty years building it into the world's largest flexible workspace provider. Whilst he is stepping away from the CEO role, his move to Executive Chairman ensures he will remain a central figure in shaping the group's future direction.

The spotlight now shifts to Schmitz, whose background marks a departure from the traditional serviced office playbook. Bringing extensive experience across transformation, consulting and private equity, he arrives with a mandate that is expected to place as much emphasis on operational efficiency and profitability as continued expansion. 

Before joining the company, Schmitz was a Partner at McKinsey & Company in San Francisco and a Director at KKR Capstone, where he advised businesses on strategic growth and operational improvement initiatives. He also spent six years as Chief Executive of Selecta, leading the European food technology and workplace services company through a period of significant change.

IWG said the leadership changes reflected the board's desire to retain Dixon's industry expertise while positioning the business for its next phase of growth.

Speaking on the move, Dixon said: “Since founding IWG nearly 38 years ago with a single centre in Brussels, it has been a privilege to lead the company as it has grown to 6,000 locations open and in the pipeline across the world. The business continues to perform in line with expectations and we are in a period of enormous opportunity for IWG. As demand for flexible workspaces continues to grow worldwide, the business is exceptionally well-positioned to capitalise on this trend.”

He continued: “Christian is an exceptional leader with a strong track record of driving transformation and performance. Since joining IWG, he has made a significant impact, bringing deep insight into our business and a clear focus on execution. He is ideally positioned to lead IWG through its next phase of growth.”

Schmitz commented: "I have been hugely impressed by my experience at IWG, its people and the strength of the business. The growth opportunity ahead of us is enormous: demand for flexible workspace is accelerating in every market, and IWG is exceptionally well positioned to capture it".

He added: "I am energised by the scale of what we can achieve, and I look forward to working with IWG’s teams around the world to seize this momentum and drive our most ambitious phase of growth yet."

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