Meta Co-Founder Dustin Moskovitz Reflects on Exhausting 13-Year CEO Tenure at Asana

Dustin Moskovitz, co-founder of Meta (formerly Facebook), openly discussed the grueling demands of his 13-year role as CEO of Asana, a work-management software company he helped establish after leaving the social media giant. "I don’t like to manage teams, and it wasn’t my intention when we started Asana," Moskovitz revealed on a podcast, emphasizing his preference for engineering over executive leadership. His accidental ascent to CEO—a position he described as "exhausting"—offered a rare glimpse into the challenges faced by introverts steering high-growth tech firms.

Moskovitz, who retains a 53% stake in Asana after stepping down earlier this year, initially expected the role to become easier as the company matured. Instead, he found himself perpetually wearing a figurative mask to meet the demands of leadership. His candid reflections underscore the often-overlooked personal toll of building and scaling technology ventures.