• 23andMe said it named three new independent directors to its board on Monday.
• All seven of 23andMe’s previous directors resigned in September over its “strategic direction.”
• 23andMe is clearing obstacles that have worried consumers.

23andMe has named three new independent directors to its board of directors following the mass resignation of its seven previous members last month.

The biotechnology company said in an SEC filing that Andre Fernandez, Mark Jensen and Jim Frankola had joined the board on Monday. The three appointees will serve on the board’s audit and compensation committees.

Fernandez previously worked as CFO of WeWork from 2022 to 2023. Jensen was managing partner at consulting firm Deloitte for 10 years before retiring in 2012. Frankola worked as CFO at Cloudera, an American data cloud company, from 2012 to 2021. before becoming a strategic advisor from 2021 to 2023.

The only other board member is CEO and co-founder Anne Wojcicki.

“I am excited to welcome these three experienced directors to the 23andMe board of directors and look forward to working with them,” Wojcicki said in a press release.

Once valued at $6 billion, 23andMe has it faced several obstacles recently, including a major user data breach in 2023, falling stock values, and consumer privacy concerns.

The seven previous board members resigned in September in a letter to Wojcicki, citing company management.

Wojcicki shared a proposal to take 23andMe private in an SEC filing in July, which was reviewed by a special committee formed by the board of directors. The special committee responded less than a week later, writing that they were “disappointed” with the proposal.

“Our expectation after months of work was that you would present a viable, fully funded, and fully diligent proposal that would be in the best interest of unaffiliated shareholders,” the letter said.

The special committee said it would give Wojcikci time to present a revised proposal. However, the committee said it had not received the revised proposal in the September resignation letter.

“While we continue to wholeheartedly support the Company’s mission and believe deeply in the value of the personalized health and wellness offering that you have expressed, it is also clear that we differ on the strategic direction for the Company’s future,” the statement reads. the letter.

In a statement after his appointment, Jensen said the new board was “ready to dig deep” and “act with urgency” to turn things around at the company.

“23andMe has a great brand and the company remains firmly committed to its mission of helping people access, understand and benefit from the human genome,” he said.

Each new director will receive $1 million in cash compensation, according to the SEC filing.

Representatives for 23andMe did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.