So you’re the CEO of an open-source documented database company. This company is in Silicon Valley. You’re worth around 1.4 billion dollars. And you’re a dedicated husband and father of three children. What do you do?
Max Shireson, CEO of Mongo DB, decided to leave his position to spend more time to his family. He wrote a blog explaining, “Why I’m leaving the best job I ever had”. He talks about how difficult it is to balance the demands of being a CEO of a fast growing corporation and the demands of raising children. Dev Ittycheria, a co-founder of Blade Logic that later merged with BMC Software, will replace Shireson as Mongo DB CEO. He eventually became one of BMC Software’s presidents, overseeing over 4,000 employees.
But let’s go back to Max Shireson leaving the job most of us would kill for. It goes back to the career vs. family dilemma and the question ‘Can we have it all?’. That’s a question usually pondered by women, like Pepsi CEO Indra Nooyi. But it’s rare you see men wrestling with this issue. This is why I admire Max Shireson so much. He realizes what’s really important in this life. Not to sound preachy, but money and titles come and go. You only have one shot to be a decent husband and father. It helps having a great supporting cast. Shireson’s wife is a professor at Univ. of California-Berkly. Dev Ittycheria has plenty of experience in the technology world and has good management skills. But I want to ask those who are in high positions and have families at home, regardless of gender: Can you really have it all?