When the CEO Leaves

July 21, 2022

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It’s not just rank-and-file employees who are at risk of losing their jobs. They're also not the only ones considering their mental health alongside pay and benefits. Recently, a slew of Allbird-wearing CEOs have handed in their resignations. Here we look at some of those departures.

Burnout
Kickstarter’s CEO announced his departure with some relatable reasoning: “I just want to go sit at the beach and do nothing.” A 2020 study on the health effects of the Great Recession on CEOs used facial recognition software to uncover the aging effects of life as the boss. The results showed what we all saw in real-time with President Obama’s graying hairline: stress takes a toll.

Flame Out
Pinterest CEO and co-founder Ben Silberman will unpin himself from the role after the company’s stock dropped from $80 to $20 per share over one year. He cited “founder’s love” as the reason to step aside and hand the reigns to Google exec Bill Ready. Silberman had been criticized for discrimination and retaliation.

Dan Wright of DataRobot resigned fewer than 18 months after starting the job. Workers took issue with upper management’s lavish spending and stock sales. The company recently laid off 7% of its employees.

End of the #Girlboss
Female CEOs have had the additional pressure of being part of a select few. Only 2% of venture capital goes to female founders, with just .2% to women of color. When a female founder and CEO steps down, it tends to draw attention to the fact that there is no hashtag for boy bosses. Millennial beauty brand founder Emily Weiss stepped down as CEO of Glossier, an end to the era of #girlboss positivity. Pressure to break endless glass ceilings has proven to obscure the challenges still facing founders who happen to be female.

Even Chess champions aren't immune to the pressure to perform and are opting out.