Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Saturday, Feb 22, 2025

Jack Dorsey called founder-CEOs 'a single point of failure' - here are some other founder-CEOs

Jack Dorsey called founder-CEOs 'a single point of failure' - here are some other founder-CEOs

Former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey cited the reasoning behind stepping down as being rooted in his belief that company founders serving as CEOs is “severely limiting” and represents a “single point of failure.” In light of his announcement, here are some other company founders currently serving as CEOs.

Twitter (TWTR) founder Jack Dorsey announced on Monday, Nov. 29, that he would be stepping down from his role as CEO after nearly 16 years at the company, with CTO Parag Agrawal filling his shoes. Dorsey will remain CEO of payments platform Square (SQ), a company which he also founded.

“Parag is CEO starting today [Nov. 29],” he said in an email with Twitter staff, which he also tweeted. “I’m going to serve on the board through my term (May-ish) to help Parag and Bret [Taylor] with the transition. And after that...I’ll leave the board.”

Dorsey cited the reasoning behind his decision as being rooted in his belief that company founders serving as CEOs is “severely limiting” and represents a “single point of failure.” In light of his announcement, here's a look at some other company founders currently serving as CEOs:

Mark Zuckerberg: Meta Platforms (FB)
Founder of Facebook.com Mark Zuckerberg, right, and Dustin Moscovitz, co-founder, left; have their photo taken at Harvard Yard. The two are students at Harvard University who are taking the semester off.


A prolific programmer from a young age, everyone is at least somewhat familiar with the story surrounding Mark Zuckerberg’s meteoric rise to prominence in both business and popular culture. Zuckerberg launched “Thefacebook,” originally located at thefacebook.com (which now redirects to Facebook), from his dorm room at Harvard during his sophomore year in January 2004. The launch was not without its obstacles, however, as he was accused of stealing the ideas behind Facebook from his fellow Harvard peers the Winklevoss twins and Divya Darendra, eventually leading to a settlement of 1.2 million shares in the company.

Following years of controversies surrounding privacy issues, misinformation, mental health, and child welfare, Facebook rebranded the company as Meta Platforms in late October in a major push towards the next frontier of the internet — metaverse.

Elon Musk: SpaceX and Tesla (TSLA)

Tech mogul Elon Musk is no stranger to the limelight — he was famously forced to step down as chairman of Tesla in September 2018 following a Twitter debacle in which he suggested that the company possessed both the funding and investor support to buy out stockholders at $420 a share. All of this resulted in a $40 million settlement with the SEC and his resignation as chairman (and ineligibility for reelection for three years for the position), but he was able to keep his job as CEO and remain on the company’s board. Since then, Tesla’s share value has skyrocketed to over $1,100 per share and the company continues to produce record sales and delivery numbers.

And although Musk did not found Tesla — that credit actually goes to two men by the names of Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning — he also famously serves as CEO of SpaceX, a private commercial spaceflight company that he founded himself in 2002, two years before he became the largest shareholder and chairman of Tesla in 2004. SpaceX stands amongst competitors Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic (SPCE), with its sights set on facilitating the first manned mission to Mars as early as 2024. SpaceX continues to build upon its close relationship with NASA in which the company has undertaken resupply and crewed missions.

Brian Chesky: Airbnb (ABNB)
Brian Chesky, CEO of Airbnb, is shown on an electronic screen at the Nasdaq MarketSite, Thursday, Dec. 10, 2020, in New York. The San Francisco-based online vacation rental company holds its IPO Thursday.


Brian Chesky cofounded Airbnb in 2008 along with fellow Rhode Island School of Design alum Joe Gebbia and Harvard graduate and technical architect Nathan Blecharczyk. Each founder assumed a different role within the company, with Chesky now serving as CEO, Blecharczyk as chief strategy officer and chairman of Airbnb China, and Gebbia as chair of Samara and Airbnb.org. Airbnb was created with the mission of creating a world “where anyone can belong anywhere,” and this is reflected in their logo which they call the “bélo” or the “universal symbol of belonging.”

Y Combinator accepted Airbnb into its seed funding program as part of its winter 2009 class, a cohort of fewer than 20 companies. Soon after, the company would begin rapidly expanding overseas and see tremendous growth in bookings. The company went public in December of 2020 with a valuation of just under $50 billion.


Evan Spiegel: Snap Inc. (SNAP)


Evan Spiegel first proposed the idea for Snapchat in a product design class in April of 2011. The platform was based upon the idea of “ephemeral messaging,” or communication through temporary messages using multimedia. Spiegel would further his work on the project with Stanford classmates Reggie Brown and Bobby Murphy, later producing a prototype for the app known as “Picaboo.” The trio renamed the platform as Snapchat and the app released on iOS in July 2011. It reached 1 million active daily users by the end of 2012 and went on to become one of the most popular social media platforms in the world. The company went public in March 2017 with a valuation of around $24 billion at $24 a share, with shares worth around double that today.

John Mackey: Whole Foods
David Matthis and John Mackey for Houston's Shepherd opening (1984).


Although Whole Foods was acquired by Amazon (AMZN) in 2017 for $13.7 billion, John Mackey continues to shape the trajectory of the brand as CEO of the company and an outspoken advocate for organic foods and animal welfare. He also currently serves on several boards of directors for nonprofits including Global Animal Partnership, The Humane Society of the United States, and Conscious Capitalism.

Mackey started his first health food store called SaferWay in 1978 in Austin, Texas, with then-girlfriend Renee Lawson Hardy, running the food store as well as a health food restaurant on the floor above. In 1980, they merged SaferWay with Clarksville Natural Grocery, a company run by Mark Skiles and Craig Weller, renaming the business Whole Foods Market. Mackey, Lawson Hardy, Skiles, and Weller are all co-founders of Whole Foods.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
The negotiation teams of Trump and Putin meet directly, establishing the groundwork for a significant advance.
Israeli Minister Urges Hamas to Surrender and Depart from Gaza.
Iran Considers Moving Its Capital Due to Urban Difficulties
Israel and Hamas Finalize Sixth Exchange of Hostages and Prisoners During Continuing Gaza Ceasefire
Leaders of BRICS to Gather in Rio de Janeiro for July Summit
Muhsin Hendricks, a trailblazing openly gay imam, was killed in South Africa.
Trump's special envoy for hostage affairs cautions Hamas against challenging Trump before Saturday's deadline.
Two British citizens apprehended in Iran amid escalating tensions.
Israel Issues Threat of Military Action as Hostage Negotiations with Hamas Continue
Hamas Coordinates Worldwide Solidarity Marches in Reaction to U.S. and Israeli Initiative
Israel Warns of Ending Gaza Ceasefire Due to Hostage Situation
King Abdullah II Dismisses US Proposal to Relocate Palestinians, Commits to Welcoming Gaza Children.
Lebanon Installs New Government with Hezbollah's Impact on Key Ministries
Report: Iran Attempted to Assassinate Trump During Election Campaign
U.S. Authorizes $7.4 Billion Arms Sale to Israel
Iran's Supreme Leader Rejects Nuclear Negotiations with the U.S.
UN Chief Denounces Trump's Gaza Plan, Cautions Against Ethnic Cleansing
Pressure Intensifies for a Free Trade Agreement between the UK and GCC in Light of Economic Difficulties
Israel to Withdraw from UN Human Rights Council Due to Accusations of Anti-Semitism
EU Reaffirms Gaza's Essential Role in Future Palestinian State Following Trump's Proposal
Iranian Currency Reaches All-Time Low Amid US 'Maximum Pressure' Initiative.
UN Reaffirms Ban on Deportation from Occupied Territories Amid US Gaza Proposal
Palestinians Fear Repeat of 'Nakba' Amid Ongoing Crisis in Gaza
UAE Aids in the Exchange of 300 Prisoners Between Russia and Ukraine
Egypt Seeks Global Backing for Two-State Solution Following US Proposal for Gaza Plan
Trump's Suggestion to 'Seize Control' of Gaza Represents a Significant Shift in US Policy
French President is the first EU leader to extend congratulations to the new Syrian President.
Tunisian President Appoints New Finance Minister Amid Economic Crisis
Trump Suggests U.S. 'Takeover' of Gaza, Prompting Global Worries
Trump's Proposal for Gaza Provokes Global Debate
President Trump Suggests Moving Gaza's Palestinian Population
Aga Khan IV, Spiritual Leader and Philanthropist, Dies at 88
Erdogan and Syria's Sharaa Talk About Collaboration to Counter Kurdish Militants
Trump Suggests U.S. Control of Gaza Strip Amid Ongoing Conflict
Trump Resumes 'Maximum Pressure' Strategy to Limit Iran's Oil Exports.
Ex-British Soldier Sentenced for Espionage on Behalf of Iran and Fleeing from Prison
Gazans in Egypt Reject Displacement, Struggle with Return to War-Torn Home
Queen Rania Urges Protection of Children’s Rights at Vatican Summit
Hamas Officials Ready to Begin Negotiations for Phase Two of Gaza Truce
Trump Expresses Caution Over Gaza Ceasefire as Netanyahu Visits Washington
Oman to Host 18th Indian Ocean Conference on Maritime Security and Trade
Emir of Kuwait Meets BlackRock CEO for Talks on Investment Opportunities
Queen Rania of Jordan Calls for Global Action on Children’s Rights at Vatican Summit
Egyptian President El-Sisi Invited for White House Meeting Following Jordanian King’s Visit
Queen Rania Calls for Protection of Children’s Rights at Vatican Summit
Israeli Military Operations Continue on Lebanon Border Amid Ceasefire Tensions
Israeli Hostage's Release Highlights Uncertainty Over Family's Fate
Israeli Military Operations Escalate in Southern Lebanon Amid Hezbollah Tensions
Zayed Award for Human Fraternity Announces 2025 Honorees
Kuwait Anticipates a 12% Increase in Budget Deficit for the 2025-2026 Fiscal Year
×