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.
> 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.
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.
