Mark Dixon, the founder of flexible workspace giant International Workplace Group, is stepping aside as CEO after nearly four decades at the helm of the company that helped pioneer the serviced office industry and became one of the world's largest office occupiers.

Dixon founded the business as Regus in Brussels in 1989 and will transition to the role of executive chairman, handing day-to-day leadership to Chief Transformation Officer Christian Schmitz. The leadership change is expected to take effect later this year and marks the first time the company will be run by a CEO other than its founder.

The move closes a significant chapter for the London-listed workspace operator, which has grown from a single business centre in Belgium into a global network of more than 6,000 locations open or under development across more than 120 countries under brands including Regus, Spaces, HQ and Signature.

Investors appeared to welcome the succession announcement, with IWG shares rising a little above 1% following the statement, although the stock remains down nearly 19% since the start of the year amid broader concerns about economic growth and office demand. The company has a market capitalisation of £1.8B.

IWG has spent recent years expanding aggressively into suburban markets, commuter towns and secondary cities. The company has argued that corporations are increasingly adopting hub-and-spoke workplace strategies that reduce reliance on large headquarters while providing employees with local workspace options.

Over the past two decades, IWG has also weathered increased competition from operators ranging from local coworking firms to venture-backed rival WeWork. While WeWork's highly publicised collapse underscored the risks of long-term office commitments, IWG's franchise-heavy model and focus on profitability have helped strengthen its position in the sector.

As a result, Schmitz, who joined IWG in 2022 and has overseen the company's operational transformation initiatives, will inherit a business that is betting heavily on continued growth in hybrid working.