Co-living startup Hmlet’s CEO steps down

Former Hmlet CEO Giselle Makarachvili / Photo credit: Hmlet

Hmlet CEO Giselle Makarachvili has stepped down from her post to focus on family, the executive told Tech in Asia.

Makarachvili joined the Singapore-based flexible living firm in January 2020 as vice president of operations. One year on, she was appointed COO, and then made CEO in October 2021.

“After years of non-stop, I chose to take a short pause to enjoy adventures with my one-year-old as we count five weeks to welcoming his sister,” she shared in a LinkedIn post.

She will be succeeded by Jonathan Wong, who has already joined the firm, says Makarachvili. Wong previously held executive positions in the Asia-Pacific business of CloudKitchens as well as in the Singapore and Malaysia units of Uber.

Hmlet is a co-living platform aimed at young professionals, which was founded in 2016 by Yoan Kamalski and Zenos Schmickrath. The company employs 83 staff, as per its LinkedIn profile.

Last year, the firm was acquired by and merged with German co-living company Habyt. Together, the entity operates over 8,000 units across 20 cities.

The pandemic led Hmlet to implement several measures to help it stay afloat, which included cutting staff, shutting its Australia operations, and appointing new executives.

See also: Hmlet merger not due to need for cash, says CEO