WeWork Executive Emily Keeton Takes Operations Role at Thrift Clothing Startup

The article first appeared in the Wall Street Journal and was written by Yuliya Chernova

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Emily Keeton, a WeWork executive who held various positions during the office-space company’s buildup to a canceled initial public offering, has left the company, according to a source familiar with the matter. Ms. Keeton has taken a role running operations for used-clothing startup Goodfair Inc., according to her LinkedIn profile.

Ms. Keeton was most recently head of WeWork Labs Texas, startup accelerators the company formed in a handful of Texas cities as part of a broader base of such accelerators around the world.

Ms. Keeton declined to comment. A call to Goodfair wasn’t returned. A spokeswoman for We Co., the parent of WeWork, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Ms. Keeton joined WeWork in 2017 as global head of mergers and acquisitions after serving in a similar role at media company IAC/InterActiveCorp . WeWork was the most active private buyer of venture-backed startups in the past two years, making some 15 acquisitions.

The company is in the process of selling several of those companies as part of a broader belt tightening resulting from its decision to postpone its planned IPO, WSJ Pro Venture Capital previously reported.

Last year, Ms. Keeton moved to another role at WeWork, becoming the managing director of its Creator Fund, a corporate venture fund, before heading up the company’s Texas accelerator program.

Ms. Keeton became chief operating officer at Goodfair this month, according to her LinkedIn profile.

Houston-based Goodfair sells bundles of pre-owned clothing that it collects from donation centers in the U.S., according to its website. The company is led by Topper Luciani, formerly with TagPop, NiftyThrifty and other startups. Goodfair recently raised about $1.4 million in debt funding, according to a regulatory filing.