NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--WeWork, the world’s leading space-as-a-service platform, today announced that it named Marissa Shorenstein as Chief Communications Officer and Hamid Hashemi as Chief Product & Experience Officer. Both executives will report to CEO Sandeep Mathrani.
Shorenstein comes to WeWork from AT&T, where she most recently served as President, Northern Region, overseeing external and public affairs as well as regulatory and legislative agendas, strategic communications, sponsorship and foundation activities for a significant portion of the U.S. In her new role, Shorenstein will lead WeWork’s communications and public affairs functions on a global basis, including external and internal communications, public affairs and social responsibility. She will join WeWork effective March 26, 2020.
Hashemi has over 30 years of experience developing and operating entertainment-based social destinations in the US and abroad, most recently as the founder and CEO of IPIC Entertainment. He will lead WeWork’s product organization, including design and member experience, starting March 2, 2020.
“We are delighted to welcome Marissa and Hamid, each bringing to WeWork an exceptional track record of accomplishment that will contribute directly to our ongoing business transformation,” said Mathrani. “Marissa’s broad experience deploying communications and public affairs initiatives to advance business strategy and objectives uniquely equips her to lead our communications function as we demonstrate the exceptional value WeWork brings to our members, employees, and other critical stakeholders. Hamid’s unique perspective on developing and operating premier destinations for entertainment and social engagement is ideally suited to our work on advancing our compelling member experience.”
Shorenstein said, “WeWork is redefining the future of the workplace, and I am thrilled to join a team that is so energized and focused on moving forward and securing the company’s position as the pioneering leader in the category it created. I look forward to engaging our vital stakeholders and further demonstrating WeWork’s value proposition and ability to meet their needs and requirements.”
“At the heart of the WeWork experience is and has always been a devotion to creating inspiring and attractive spaces that foster a sense of community and spur innovation,” said Hashemi. “For three decades, I have improved traditional business models by creating novel experiences in spaces that excite people, bring them together, and make them feel welcome. I look forward to advancing this same goal here at WeWork.”
About Marissa Shorenstein
Shorenstein has spent the past two decades in senior communications and public affairs roles at high-profile organizations and state-level government and political campaigns. Prior to joining AT&T in 2012, Marissa ran her own strategic communications firm, consulting for clients that included AT&T. She was previously Communications Director for Andrew Cuomo’s successful 2010 campaign for Governor of New York, and before that was Press Secretary for Gov. David Paterson. From 2004 – 2007, she was a senior manager for Strategic Planning and Corporate Communications for the New York Jets, a role she took after serving as a senior associate at SSK, a communications firm and as New York Director of Communications for Cover the Uninsured Week, a public awareness campaign. Marissa earned a B.A. from Harvard University and while there served on the National Press Advance team for the Gore Presidential campaign. She has a J.D. from Fordham University Law School and serves as Board Chair of Girls Who Code, Vice Chair of the Citizens Budget Commission and as a director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York.
About Hamid Hashemi
Over the past three decades, Hashemi has developed and launched three innovative companies involved in motion picture exhibition, multiple restaurant brands, and an aviation company. He also has vast experience in real estate development, combining his direct expertise with pioneering concepts for consumer engagement. In 2006, he founded IPIC Entertainment, a pioneer in luxury entertainment, overseeing the construction and development of multiple theaters, as well as restaurant brands, bars, and event spaces, before selling the company in the fall of 2019. Prior to this, Hashemi founded Muvico Theater in 1984, growing the company to more than 100 screens in South Florida before selling the successful business to Regal Cinema in 1995. From 1995 to 2005 he went on to build a new generation of megaplexes, including some of the highest-attended theaters across the country. Hashemi serves on the Board of Trustees of Pine Crest School and has served on various boards in the past, including the Board of Trustees of the Museum of Discovery and Science in Fort Lauderdale and the Board of Trustees of the Carl DeSantis Business and Economic Center for the Study and Development of the Motion Picture and Entertainment Industry at Florida Atlantic University.
About WeWork
WeWork provides members with space, community, and services through physical and virtual offerings. As of 2019 fourth-quarter close, WeWork had 739 locations across 140 cities and 37 countries, as well as 662,000+ total memberships, including global enterprises. WeWork is committed to providing members around the world with a better day at work for less.