Talkspace COO resigns following review of conduct at company offsite event

The resignation comes a week after the company announced its cofounders were leaving their roles.
By Emily Olsen
02:22 pm
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Photo: Hero Images Inc./Getty Images

Teletherapy company Talkspace announced Monday that president and chief operating officer Mark Hirschhorn had resigned following an internal review of his conduct “in connection with a company offsite that took place late last week.”

In a statement, the company said that Hirschhorn’s resignation was effective immediately and that Talkspace’s executive team would handle his responsibilities.

Hirschhorn was hired by Talkspace in February 2020. He had previously worked at telehealth giant Teladoc Health, though he announced his resignation in 2018, not long after the Southern Investigative Reporting Foundation released a report alleging he had given stock tips to an employee he was having an affair with.

Investors had filed a class action lawsuit against Teladoc, Hirschhorn and the company’s CEO, alleging insider trading and that the employee in question had received undeserved promotions. Teladoc denied the insider trading allegations, saying its investigation had only found violations of its workplace relationship policy. The case was dismissed in late September. 

The resignation comes a week after Talkspace cofounder and CEO Oren Frank and cofounder and head of clinical services Roni Frank stepped down from their roles

The company also announced its financial results for the quarter ended Sept. 30 last week, reporting $26.4 million in net revenue, a 23% year-over-year increase, which fell under its guidance expectations. Talkspace’s adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) was a loss of $20.8 million, compared with a loss of $2 million in the prior-year period.

“While Net Revenue grew 23% year-over-year, driven by continued momentum in the B2B business, the overall financial results for the third quarter were disappointing. Q3 Net Revenue came in below management expectations due to a lower number of B2C customers and a one-time non-cash reserve adjustment for credit losses on receivables related to prior periods.

"The $223 million of available liquidity as of September 30 will allow Talkspace to invest in important operational enhancements and new initiatives that will continue to drive long-term growth,” Talkspace chief financial officer Jennifer Fulk said in a statement.

Talkspace went public in June through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company, a manner of public exit that has been popular with digital health companies. 

Digital mental health and behavioral health is a competitive space, racking up $3.1 billion in investor dollars so far in 2021, according to Rock Health’s quarterly report.

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