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Why not? Why can't a true hacker be a CEO? Bill Gates was a hacker. He implemented the Altair Basic language when computer languages were still in their infancy

by ww520 3y ago

Why not? Why can't a true hacker be a CEO? Bill Gates was a hacker. He implemented the Altair Basic language when computer languages were still in their infancy. Timothy Sweeney was a hacker and the creator of the Unreal Engine. He was the CEO of Epic. Eric Schmidt was a hacker. He wrote Lex. He became the CEO of Sun and Google. I would say Elon Musk was a hacker, as he was super technical.

Dalewyn 3y ago
The job of a Chief Executive Officer is to run the company, which requires a distinctly different set of skills and talent from people who like getting their hands dirty at the workbench.
- nicce 3y ago
  It depends a lot… Being ”a hacker” does not remove the required skills even if he has used his time for other things in the past. For software company, it could be useful if the CEO knows what software is and the company might find other business models than trending ”enshittification” route.
- ww520 3y ago
  Why can't a hacker poccess both the skill sets? On the contrast I can show you pure business people failed at the CEO post. E.g. John Sculley ran Apple to the ground.
- jocaal 3y ago
  > the job of a Chief Executive Officer is to run the company Thats a very vague job description. Executive's jobs are to make investments that will maximize shareholder return and an executive of an engineering company will only be able to make the best investments if they understand the technology they are selling and their customers. People have been noting how engineers have been running more and more companies, thats because more and more companies rely on technology to drive their growth.
- jorvi 3y ago
  What I’m missing in all this.. there’s literally a role in the executive suite for the hacker-leader: CTO.
  - Dalewyn 3y ago
    Absolutely, but we're talking specifically about the CEO role.
OJFord 3y ago
As much as Paul Allen? Would the latter have been as good a CEO? Assuming you can't be among the best of both, which is a natural if possibly wrong assumption, I think it's clear where Gates excelled and that was obviously great for Microsoft.

by ww520 3y ago

Dalewyn 3y ago

The job of a Chief Executive Officer is to run the company, which requires a distinctly different set of skills and talent from people who like getting their hands dirty at the workbench.

nicce 3y ago
It depends a lot… Being ”a hacker” does not remove the required skills even if he has used his time for other things in the past. For software company, it could be useful if the CEO knows what software is and the company might find other business models than trending ”enshittification” route.
ww520 3y ago
Why can't a hacker poccess both the skill sets? On the contrast I can show you pure business people failed at the CEO post. E.g. John Sculley ran Apple to the ground.
jocaal 3y ago
> the job of a Chief Executive Officer is to run the company Thats a very vague job description. Executive's jobs are to make investments that will maximize shareholder return and an executive of an engineering company will only be able to make the best investments if they understand the technology they are selling and their customers. People have been noting how engineers have been running more and more companies, thats because more and more companies rely on technology to drive their growth.
jorvi 3y ago
What I’m missing in all this.. there’s literally a role in the executive suite for the hacker-leader: CTO.
- Dalewyn 3y ago
  Absolutely, but we're talking specifically about the CEO role.

OJFord 3y ago

As much as Paul Allen? Would the latter have been as good a CEO? Assuming you can't be among the best of both, which is a natural if possibly wrong assumption, I think it's clear where Gates excelled and that was obviously great for Microsoft.