Meta's billionaire co-founder says being CEO for 13 years was 'quite exhausting'

Dustin Moskovitz left Facebook in 2008 with an 8 percent stake and a net worth now estimated at $12 billion. (Image credit: LinkedIn)

Dustin Moskovitz, co-founder of Meta and work management platform Asana, has said he found his 13-year tenure as CEO “quite exhausting,” citing the emotional toll of leadership and his introverted personality. Speaking on the Stratechery podcast by Ben Thompson, Moskovitz reflected on the pressures of running a company through turbulent times, CNBC Make It reported.

Moskovitz, who left Facebook in 2008 with an 8 percent stake and a net worth now estimated at $12 billion, co-founded Asana the same year. He stepped down as CEO earlier this year and now serves as chairman, retaining 53 percent of the company’s outstanding shares.

“I don’t like to manage teams, and it wasn’t my intention when we started Asana,” he said. “I’d intended to be more of an independent or head of engineering or something again. Then one thing led to another, and I was CEO for 13 years, and I just found it quite exhausting.”

Leadership in a chaotic world

Moskovitz said he initially believed the role would get easier as the company matured, but global events made leadership increasingly reactive. “The world just kept getting more chaotic — the first Trump presidency and the pandemic and all the race stuff,” he said. “Being a CEO is a lot more reacting to problems.”

Introverts in leadership

Moskovitz joins a list of prominent introverted leaders, including Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, and Mark Zuckerberg. He also isn’t the first CEO to admit that he never intended to manage people.

According to Fortune, research shows that as many as 82 bosses of bosses are “accidental” and were simply thrust into the role because they were at the functional or technical aspects of the job.