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I worked at Opera for a long time before it went Chinese, most of the time with Jon as CEO. Best as I can tell: Jon von Tetzchner always had one primary goal -

I worked at Opera for a long time before it went Chinese, most of the time with Jon as CEO. Best as I can tell: Jon von Tetzchner always had one primary goal - to become an industry titan, primarily like Bill Gates. He founded Vivaldi after he was was thrown out by Opera's board in 2010. I don't have any insight into why that happened, but I do know that at that time he was a terrible leader who simply wasn't able to prioritize and scope at all. Exactly anything that was "good" had the highest priority. For the sake of his employees at Vivaldi, I really do hope that he has gone through some personal developments since then. He did have a bunch of positive traits too! Can't tell in detail without exposing myself though.

Quai 3y ago
Compared to Lars, Jon was hands on, and connected with the staff and products. I think I can count on one hand the times I saw Lars eating in the canteen. The company changed a lot after that, and not necessarily for the better. What made Opera great was the people working there. The amount of knowledge and raw talent that lived in the tight hallways of Waldemar Thranes gate 98 was impressive. Looking at Vivaldi's "Our Team" page, it looks they have almost recreated the same team from back when I joined. I miss that period!
deelly 3y ago
> Best as I can tell: Jon von Tetzchner always had one primary goal - to become an industry titan, primarily like Bill Gates. Could you please explain, in your opinion, why its bad that Jon von Tetzchner have a goal to become an industry titan?
- RamblingCTO 3y ago
  You can't answer that yourself? He obviously puts the product above his need for greatness, so the product will suffer and most probably bad decisions affecting users will be made.
  - deelly 3y ago
    Yes, I can't answer it yourself, that's why I`m asking. Is it hard to understand from my question?

Quai 3y ago

Compared to Lars, Jon was hands on, and connected with the staff and products. I think I can count on one hand the times I saw Lars eating in the canteen. The company changed a lot after that, and not necessarily for the better. What made Opera great was the people working there. The amount of knowledge and raw talent that lived in the tight hallways of Waldemar Thranes gate 98 was impressive. Looking at Vivaldi's "Our Team" page, it looks they have almost recreated the same team from back when I joined. I miss that period!

deelly 3y ago

> Best as I can tell: Jon von Tetzchner always had one primary goal - to become an industry titan, primarily like Bill Gates. Could you please explain, in your opinion, why its bad that Jon von Tetzchner have a goal to become an industry titan?

RamblingCTO 3y ago
You can't answer that yourself? He obviously puts the product above his need for greatness, so the product will suffer and most probably bad decisions affecting users will be made.
- deelly 3y ago
  Yes, I can't answer it yourself, that's why I`m asking. Is it hard to understand from my question?