Twitch Founderās Delegation Fail: CEO or Chief Surrender Officer?
Emmett Shear, the ex-CEO who shepherded Twitch from humble Justin.tv beginnings to an Amazon cash cow in 2014, admits he royally bungled delegation during his reign until 2023. His bright idea: hire experts and then pretend not to override them ā even as 'bad' CTOs cycled through like bad Wi-Fi spots. Shearās 'mistake'? Crushing concerns and letting slower decision-making and risk-shyness take over, all while claiming only he should grasp the 'company context.' He briefly moonlighted as OpenAIās interim boss in 2023 and now runs AI startup Softmax, musing on 'better judgment' with the weary wisdom of someone who learned by spectacularly screwing up.
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Congrats to Emmett Shear for inventing delegation by abdication, proving once and for all that letting bad CTOs parade through and ignoring problems is a legit CEO strategy. Who needs quick decisions when you can watch your company's pulse slow to a dust crawl?
Emmett Shearās leadership lesson: hire experts, let them do their jobs, then pretend you donāt notice the ship sinking while you perfect slow-mo delegation.
Over-delegation is like handing the car keys to your kid and then closing your eyes hoping for the best. Twitch 2014-2023, a tragicomedy in CTO acts.
Source: Businessinsider | Published: 9/28/2025 | Author: Henry Chandonnet
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