Why Being A Great Technologist May Not Make You A Great CEO (And How To Bridge The Gap)
Jason Kaplan
BSides NYC 2025 (0x05) · Day 1 · Entrepreneur
Jason Kaplan's talk at BSides NYC, "Why Being A Great Technologist May Not Make You A Great CEO (And How To Bridge The Gap)," delves into the profound differences between excelling as a technologist and succeeding as a Chief Executive Officer. Kaplan, a seasoned CEO and co-founder, argues that while technical brilliance is often the genesis of groundbreaking companies, the skills, mindset, and daily responsibilities required to lead a business are fundamentally distinct from those of an engineer or innovator. He uses compelling sports analogies, contrasting Wayne Gretzky, an unparalleled hockey player who struggled as a coach and general manager, with Mike Krzyzewski (Coach K), a mediocre athlete who became one of college basketball's greatest coaches, to illustrate that mastery in one domain does not automatically translate to success in another.
AI review
A competent LinkedIn article dressed up as a conference talk, delivered by someone with real startup experience who nonetheless packages 'CEOs do sales and technologists don't' into 45 minutes of sports analogies and numbered lists. Nothing here would surprise anyone who's read a single HBR piece on founder-to-CEO transitions, and none of it belongs at a security conference in a technical slot.