LZ - LegalZoom Announces Leadership Transition | Benzinga
Current Chairman Jeffrey Stibel to become next CEO
John Murphy named Lead Independent Director
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., July 09, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- LegalZoom.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:LZ) today announced that the Company's current Chairman of the Board of Directors, Jeffrey Stibel, has been named LegalZoom's next CEO, effective immediately. LegalZoom has also appointed John Murphy as the Lead Independent Director of the Board. As part of this transition, current Chief Executive Officer Dan Wernikoff will be departing the Company, including resigning from the Board.
The Board and Mr. Wernikoff decided that now is the right time for this transition, as the Company increases its focus on shifting towards subscription-based revenue to drive long-term profitable growth.
"The Board identified Jeff as the ideal CEO to lead LegalZoom's next chapter," said Mr. Murphy. "He is a seasoned executive who has been a deeply involved member of the Board for nearly a decade, including serving in a leadership position as Chairman since 2018. Jeff possesses extensive knowledge of the Company's product offerings, technology infrastructure, and attorney network, as well as the competitive landscape and customer segment. He also brings ideal experience to the role, having been an executive officer of numerous technology services companies where he successfully scaled and enhanced profitability for subscription technology offerings – an increasingly key strategic focus area for LegalZoom. Finally, as one of our largest individual investors, Jeff will be closely aligned with all our shareholders as he focuses on creating long term value."
Mr. Stibel joined the Board of LegalZoom in 2014, and over the course of his career has established an extensive track record as both a successful investor and operating executive, with a focus on subscription businesses serving entrepreneurs. He has been a partner of Bryant Stibel & Company, an investment and strategic advisory platform, since 2013. Mr. Stibel served as the Vice Chairman of Dun & Bradstreet until the company was taken private in 2017 and was Chairman and CEO of a predecessor company acquired by Dun & Bradstreet, where he helped to grow the small business customer base nearly 500% to over two million subscribers. Prior to that, Mr. Stibel was President and CEO of Web.com, Inc., where he grew the business into one of the largest web services providers in the world until its sale, which resulted in a roughly 200% increase in shareholder value during his tenure. In his capacity as board member, investor and advisor while at Bryant Stibel, he has helped to grow subscription companies such as MyFitnessPal, Life360, McAfee and TeamViewer.
"I am thrilled to be taking on this new challenge across a $51 billion serviceable addressable market with our amazing team," said Mr. Stibel. "Given our leading brand position and the progress we have made shifting our business towards subscription revenue, I believe that LegalZoom is well positioned to disrupt the legal and compliance services industry focused on serving small businesses and consumers. I especially want to thank Dan for his strong leadership and everything he has given to the business during his time as CEO. The team and I look forward to having more updates to share with investors and all our stakeholders on our second quarter earnings call."
Mr. Wernikoff took over as CEO in October of 2019. He led the company through COVID-19, took it public in June 2021, and after building a world-class team across competencies, drove multiple new product launches.
Mr. Murphy continued, "The entire Board would like to thank Dan for his contributions to LegalZoom, and we wish him further success in the future. Dan built a strong foundation for growth, a talented and committed global organization and instilled a performance-based culture that will help ensure LegalZoom is well-positioned for its next phase."
For the second quarter ending June 30, 2024, LegalZoom continues to expect revenue in the range of $172 million to $176 million and Adjusted EBITDA in the range of $25 million to $27 million. For the full year ending December 31, 2024, LegalZoom is reiterating that Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be in the range of $135 million to $145 ...