Firefox usage is down despite Mozilla's top exec pay going up

Re:Firefox usage is down despite Mozilla's top exec pay goin... by saagarjha on Wednesday September 23, 2020 @03:35AM (#24564108)

Says someone who is well versed in commenting on an online forum but not an executive for a large nonprofit. Look, I have nothing for or against Baker, but the constant “she knows nothing about her job because she isn’t a programmer” is just tiresome. You don’t have to be technical to be an effective leader. However, it usually does help and you surely do need to know when your company is going under.

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Re:Firefox usage is down despite Mozilla's top exec pay goin... by jacquesm on Wednesday September 23, 2020 @03:42AM (#24564158)

I've been CEO of various companies in the past, and am CEO of a much smaller company today (by choice). Not 'large non-profits' but large enough for it to matter to those around me and the people that I employ.

When COVID-19 hit the first thing I did was reduce, then totally stop my pay. This has caused me to take a significant personal hit but it means that the company now has a year and a half of runway left at the current rate of expense.

Nobody got laid off even though we are down to some fraction of our pre-COVID income. Morale is not super high because of course people are still suffering personally because of the whole affair, several people working with/for us including me have been infected, and all of our lives are significantly impacted. But we are still afloat and will get through this crisis with all hands on board and when we do I will make sure to send extra compensation to those people that took a pay cut to make this happen.

So, as one CEO commenting on the actions of another: this excuse is bordering on the ridiculous and I'm surprised that she even mentioned it.

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Re:Firefox usage is down despite Mozilla's top exec pay goin... by saagarjha on Wednesday September 23, 2020 @04:06AM (#24564305)

I am not commenting on Baker, I am commenting on you commenting on Baker. Whether or not she should take a pay cut is not the question, although personally I would say that it would be good if she did even if only for optics at this point. My issue is the one where you claim she is unfit to lead because she is non-technical in your eyes: again, this is not a requirement to be a good CEO.

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Re:Firefox usage is down despite Mozilla's top exec pay goin... by jacquesm on Wednesday September 23, 2020 @04:22AM (#24564417)

It is not a requirement but it certainly helps when running a technology company. I know some very good companies run by lawyers: investment funds, legal companies and a medical institution.

None of them would run their companies into the ground to maintain their executive pay because they felt that would be 'unfair to their families', this is a CEO that is so self centered that nothing good can come of it.

But besides that, Mozilla - or rather, FireFox - is an important (though now much less important) technology component and a lawyer is not going to run a company making such a component effectively because this is not a regulated industry or a financial vehicle where having a legal background might give you an edge.

When three years from now Baker will have her nest egg completed the husk of Mozilla will quietly die and Firefox right along with it whereas right now there might (and that's a very small might) still be a chance to turn this around.

Regardless of whether you think lawyers make good CEOs, this lawyer is not a good CEO for this company, witness the performance of the flagship product, recent layoffs, the company financials and their recent statements.

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Re:Firefox usage is down despite Mozilla's top exec pay goin... by harwoodleon on Wednesday September 23, 2020 @04:24AM (#24564440)

Why is that not a valid position to take? Sure you can have good non-specialist or non-technical leaders. Are they better or worse?

I would say without a personal understanding of the challenges of the core business, their judgement would lack that influence. This lacking will absolutely effect the direction of the org. The numbers don’t lie as to the effect.

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