npm, Inc. has a new CEO, Bryan Bogensberger

Coming up as a software developer in Open Source, I’ve long believed that the best path to success is to depend on the strengths of others. One reason why I wrote a package manager in the first place was that I knew the JavaScript community as a whole could write a much better web platform than any one team or developer, if only we could reduce the friction in the collaboration process. I wanted that platform to exist, and frankly, had no idea it would turn out as wonderfully as it has.

When I founded npm, Inc. back in 2014, one piece of advice I got as a founding CEO of a startup was: start planning your transition (lest it be planned for you). I took that advice to heart, and throughout the life of this company, I have tried to avoid holding any illusions about my own abilities. After spending 8 years running npm – first as an independent project leader, then as a founding CEO – I learned my share of lessons about where my skills lie and where I fall short.

I have a passion for developing products that streamline the experience of creating software applications and sharing libraries. npm’s place in the development ecosystem speaks to some considerable skill in that area. I don’t have as much of a passion for running go to market efforts, hammering out the details of partnerships, business and HR operations, or managing a large team of employees.

These are interesting challenges, to be sure, and I adore this group of humans who have joined the company and added so much to npm. But it became increasingly clear that npm, Inc. needed new leadership if the company was going to make good on the promise of providing financial support for this cultural movement. I found that any attention I spent on anything other than product meant that the company suffered, and so did my soul.

It turns out hiring a CEO is hard! We spent 6 months on our first search, and the outcome was that the company was just not ready. Several extremely smart and capable people came in and said, “Yeah, you’ve probably got something here, but it’s not far enough along to hire someone like me.” So, we regrouped, reevaluated our strategy for our enterprise product line, acquired a security company, and came up with a better vision for the company’s future. Our second search had a much better result, with one candidate standing out, being both a good fit for the company and also eager to take on the challenges ahead.

Today, I’m happy to introduce Bryan Bogensberger as npm, Inc.’s CEO. He brings a wealth of experience in Open Source and a ton of excitement and expertise to help grow npm to the next level and beyond. Commercializing something like this without ruining it is no small task, and building the team to deliver on npm’s promise is a major undertaking. We’ve sketched out a business plan and strategy for the next year, and will be announcing some other key additions to the team in the coming months.

Meanwhile, I’ve taken on the title of Chief Product Officer and I will be spending my time focused on the part of the problem that I love.

I’m extremely excited about what 2019 will bring for npm, Inc. and the growing community we serve. If your company uses npm (spoiler alert: they do), and you’d like to see how you can professionalize your JavaScript story, check out npm Enterprise and npm Orgs. If you’d like to be a part of the company that’s continuing to improve how JavaScript is done around the world, come work here.