Bruce Schuman succeeds Jamie Cohen as Vacasa CFO
US: Portland-based vacation rental management platform Vacasa has announced the appointment of Bruce Schuman as chief financial officer, succeeding Jamie Cohen, who is stepping down to pursue other opportunities.
The appointment will be effective from 1 June. Until then, Cohen will remain available for transition consultation services with the company through to 1 October.
A press release highlighted that the transition “was not the result of any disagreements between Cohen and Vacasa”.
Schuman joins Vacasa with nearly 30 years of financial leadership experience within the technology sector. Most recently, he served as the CFO of real estate lender Kiavi, Inc., after previously serving as financial lead at Intel Corporation and as VP and CFO of Intel Capital.
Vacasa CEO Rob Greyber said: “I’m thrilled to welcome Bruce to Vacasa. Bruce has successfully led financial functions at one of the world’s most transformative technology companies and has also helped growth businesses develop financial and operating rigour as they scaled.
“Bruce will round out a leadership team at Vacasa focused on driving profitable growth, improving customer-centric execution and unlocking Vacasa’s long-term potential,” he added.
Schuman said: “I am excited to join Vacasa, a company with enormous potential to further transform the vacation rental industry. I’ve seen first-hand how technology can simplify and elevate customer experiences and am looking forward to working with Rob and the talented executive team as we continue to bring technology-enabled hospitality and service to Vacasa’s homeowners and guests.”
Cohen has served as CFO at Vacasa since joining the company in March 2021, where she was tasked with building out the company’s core finance functions and overseeing its special purpose acquisition company [SPAC] merger with TPG Pace Solutions Corp. that resulted in Vacasa becoming a publicly traded company.
Jeff Parks, chairman of Vacasa’s board of directors, said: “I want to thank Jamie for her hard work over the last couple of years and the valuable role she has played during her time with the company, especially in leading Vacasa into the public markets. It has been a pleasure having her on the team, and I wish her only the best in her future endeavours.”
It has been a troubling first half of 2023 so far for Vacasa, after the company reduced its total workforce by 17 per cent in January [its third round of job cuts in six months] and Craig Smith and Jeff Flitton stepped down from their respective CCO and CTO roles in February. The firm, along with fellow lodging company Sonder, also received notice from the Nasdaq Stock Market at the start of the month that it was at risk of being delisted within the next 180 calendar days if it did not comply with minimum bid price requirements.
Vacasa says that it now manages 40,000+ homes in over 500 destinations in the United States, Belize, Canada, Costa Rica and Mexico.
