> I wonder what this is really about.

Maybe just that? That's pretty much what retirement is about, also. Doesn't say that Igor won't work on personal or even non-personal projects at all, just that more time will be available for, well, friends and family.

It is standard resignation speak. It’s the same thing I told HR to tell my team when I decided it was time to leave, because it is what everyone else says when they resign.

I left due to burnout and failed negotiations. I did share the burnout with my team individually.

I will disagree with this, this is a completion of a P&L merger, a golden parachute some know it as, Gus also recently left.

perfect opportunity to spend some time with the family, though

Perhaps. However, I do find it slightly 'off' that his departure is announced in the form of an article, and not a personal statement in which he would have more or less unavoidably had to have elaborated on the reasons for choosing this moment to depart.

At least in my personal experience, when this happens to a senior leader it's usually because they had been informed by others that they WOULD be resigning.

Exactly.

> a high schooler in the mid‑1980s

Seems like a good time to spend with family to me.

It's been 20 years, it could be true.

Usually not, but that's the nice part of this kind of letter; it's always plausible.

I think it's usually true. But that's what makes it so useful to people casting around for something to cover for reasons that might be less savory or less pleasant. And that resulting contrast means we really notice it in high-profile cases as an excuse, making it almost a cliche.

Usually? But then I wonder what it would say if it were the case? Hopefully in the majority of cases, things do end this "boringly".

Playing the numbers, most founders move on through a couple new ventures before retiring to hang out with friends and family.

I'm not saying "usually" like it's 98%... more like 70% odds.

I think he was detained recently by the police because there is a claim that he started Nginx while employed at another company. Seems like some sort of shakedown by politically connected people.