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MAX SCHIRESON IS the former CEO of MongoDB, a database software startup last reported to be worth $1.6 billion (€1.44 billion).
Although MongoDB, a company formerly known as 10gen which opened its international headquarters in Dublin in mid-2013, grew its revenue 30 times and raised $220 million (€198 million) during his four years there, most people remember him as the man behind a resignation letter that went totally viral last year.
Schireson stood down from the CEO position to spend more time with his family and his impassioned letter got attention for its candour about the modern demands and realities of work-life balance.
But roughly 11 months after freeing himself from a gruelling work life, Schireson announced on Thursday that he’s back in a full-time position at VC firm Battery Ventures.
I have been doing less work, but I am ready to ramp up that part of my life a bit. I’m starting a job as an Executive in Residence at Battery Ventures,” Schireson wrote in a blog post.
A balanced life
In his new job, Schireson said he’ll be helping Battery Ventures find attractive startups, while working with entrepreneurs to build the companies. However, he stressed that he has no plans of using his new role to start another company or join a different startup.
“I love variety and intellectual challenge, so the idea of working across a number of exciting startups was appealing,” he said in a separate interview with Battery Ventures.
I wanted to continue to have a balanced life and this was an opportunity to engage with great companies without committing to an intense, CEO-like management role.”
Schireson also wrote that he’s been spending a lot of his time with family and friends over the past year. His professional activities have been “limited” last year, he says, which made him travel a lot less too.
“I have 21,000 miles with United in the first 8 months of this year, down from 114,000 in the first 6 months of last year,” he said.
In August 2014, Schireson wrote a blog post titled, “Why I’m leaving the best job I ever had,” explaining his intention to step down from MongoDB’s CEO position to spend more time with family.
It drew a lot of attention as he made some valid points about work-life balance in the tech industry.
As a male CEO, I have been asked what kind of car I drive and what type of music I like, but never how I balance the demands of being both a dad and a CEO … friends and colleagues often ask my wife how she balances her job and motherhood. Somehow, the same people don’t ask me,” he wrote at the time.
You can read his full blog post here.
By Eugene Kim for Business Insider, with reporting from TheJournal.ie staff
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“Keep the recovery going”
TDs: Wahey, we get a €5k pay rise!
Health workers: Where’s our pay rise?
Fine Gael: Well, we haven’t recovered that much now…
@Franklin Roosevelt: the economy has recovered very significantly since the 2007 implosion , I know that’s not popular acknowledge here but it is true
@Franklin Roosevelt: apologies hadn’t read comment properly
Maybe a.silly statement but ” voluntary organisations” funded by hse . What makes it voluntary if the workers are being paid ?
@Chris Tobin: as far as i know that title entitles them to legally receive charitable donations. So the HSE funding isn’t 100% of their income.
@Stephen Foster: voluntary only in name for tax reasons so
@Chris Tobin: They are service providers to the HSE who would have to do the support and rehab work they do. Section 39 groups as is mentioned in the article.
Please check out the difference before statements that quiet simply are wrong and uninformed.
The HSE pay for the staffing of them to do the work, the charitable donations are used directly to help the clients more than they could if only relying on HSE funding
I honestly wish people would learn more about the section 39 groups before commenting . The misunderstanding above are frightening.
Funding was cut, wages were cut, so as not to affect the clients IE me and other disabled people who rely on these groups.
The charitable donations go in special activities or training for the clients.
The group that help me received a 64% increase in requests for support and had a 15% cut in funding.
DO THE MATH.
Are these people employees of the HSE though? It doesn’t sound like it as they are section 39 companies who receive funding from the HSE as they are effectively charities or do charity classified work. SIPTU are looking for the HSE to increase grants to these designated charity organisations it seems so that they can be used to fund salary increases. This is comparing apples with oranges surely. I’m not sure how this is comparable with PS pay increases.
@Sean @114: hse funded ” voluntary organisations” so
@Chris Tobin: they are providing funds. They are not the employer and there is no obligation on HSE to provide more funds for salaries as it is not the employer. SIPTU comparing apples to oranges here. The gripe is with the employer surely.
@Sean @114: No you have it wrong completely. Not surprising as a lot of people do. It would take too long to explain. Section 39 groups do work for the HSE and they are paid like any other service provider. The wages were cut in line with the PS wages and what they are asking for is parity.
@Gary Kearney: The HSE provide recurring grants for these agencies but are not a direct employer of their employees. You will find none of them on the HSE payroll.
@Alan McCartney: But this came up in 2014 relating to top-up payments.
The HSE engaged with “section 39 organisations regarding their obligations under their service agreements with it not to pay or subsidise salaries, expenses or other benefits which exceeded those normally paid in the public service.”
If their pay was capped then, they’re saying it would be fair to match it with HSE wages now.
@Alan McCartney: correct, not the employer. They may ‘subsidise’ section 39 agencies but they do not employ these staff. At least that was always my understanding. If they were let go would they receive a P45 from the HSE employer registered company? I don’t believe so.
@Fiona Fitzgerald: yes obligations under an agreement which sees funding received from the HSE. They set guidelines that certain payments should not exceed those in line with their own. It makes sense to do so. Nowhere would it make sense to agree to pay ‘increases’ for non employees.
@Alan McCartney: and they can match it all they want from current funding levels.
When the inefficiencies are gone from the health service and some savings made, review pay and apply where possible.
The amount of €uros wasted on administration for administration sake is what cripples the guys of the budget.
SIPTU won’t hear tell of it because our affects their income.
You’d cringe at the salaries the top table are paid in these unions. Jack O’ Connor is on €149k folks.
@Murph: examples please.
Sack them all and get the army to take over.
@Peter Barlow: What, march into nursing homes and help them all into clean uniforms? Shout out their medication in relays?
@Peter Barlow: I hope none of your family ever need these services.
have your say