Are Two C.E.O.s Better Than One? (Update)

Spotify, Oracle, and Comcast have each recently announced they’re going with co-C.E.O.s. In this 2023 episode, we dig into the research and hear firsthand stories of triumph and disaster. Also: lessons from computer programmers, Simon and Garfunkel, and bears versus alligators.

• SOURCES:• Jim Balsillie (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Balsillie), retired chairman and co-C.E.O. of Research In Motion.
• Mike Cannon-Brookes (linkedin.com/in/mcannonbrookes/?originalSubdom…), co-founder and C.E.O. of Atlassian.
• Scott Farquhar (linkedin.com/in/scottfarquhar/?originalSubdoma…), co-founder and former co-C.E.O. of Atlassian.
• Marc Feigen (feigenadvisors.com/team/profile/marc-a-feigen), C.E.O. advisor.
• Jeffrey Sonnenfeld (som.yale.edu/faculty-research/faculty-director…), professor of management studies and senior associate dean at the Yale School of Management and founding president of the Chief Executive Leadership Institute.
• Laurie Williams (collaboration.csc.ncsu.edu/laurie/index.html), professor of computer science at North Carolina State University.

• RESOURCES:• "Scott Farquhar to resign as joint CEO of Atlassian (theguardian.com/technology/2024/apr/26/scott-f…)," by Jonathan Barrett (The Guardian, 2024).
• "Is It Time to Consider Co-C.E.O.s? (hbr.org/2022/07/is-it-time-to-consider-co-ceos)" by Marc A. Feigen, Michael Jenkins, and Anton Warendh (Harvard Business Review, 2022).
• "The Costs and Benefits of Pair Programming (collaboration.csc.ncsu.edu/laurie/Papers/XPSar…)," by Alistair Cockburn and Laurie Williams (2000).
• "Strengthening the Case for Pair Programming (ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/854064)," by Laurie Williams, Robert R. Kessler, Ward Cunningham, and Ron Jeffries (IEEE Software, 2000).

• EXTRAS:• "The Secret Life of a C.E.O. (freakonomics.com/podcast-tag/the-secret-life-o…)," series by Freakonomics Radio (2018).

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