LinkedIn CEO Is Leaving After 18 Years, Says He Didn’t Want to Return to the Office Full Time
Ryan Roslansky recently announced his departure, ending a career that spanned nearly two decades at LinkedIn and Microsoft.
Key Takeaways
- After nearly two decades at LinkedIn, CEO Ryan Roslansky is leaving.
- He determined that to effectively lead the company, he would have to show up in person at Microsoft’s Redmond, Washington headquarters.
- Roslansky announced that he is moving on rather than accept the significant return-to-office change to his working arrangement.
A new development shows that even senior executives consider leaving their jobs over requirements to show up to work in person. Microsoft is losing its LinkedIn CEO after nearly two decades, after he determined that he would have to show up in person to effectively lead the company — and he said that was a price he wasn’t willing to pay.
LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky, who has been with the company for 18 years and led it for six years, announced this month that he was leaving in a LinkedIn post. His exit has everything to do with where he works.
Roslansky said his decision was shaped in part by the prospect of relocating to Redmond, Washington, to work in Microsoft’s headquarters every day. Microsoft has broadly been tightening up its return-to-office policy. As of February, employees who live within 50 miles of an office have to work on-site at least three times a week.
Roslansky, who lives in the Bay Area with his family, said he did not want to move to Redmond.
“I know what it would take for me to lead the next phase of this work well: being in Redmond full time, every day. But my life and my family’s life are here in the Bay Area,” Roslansky wrote in the post.
Roslansky added in the post that his wife, Leigh, “gives her time to more local organizations” in the Bay Area than he can keep up with. Additionally, his youngest daughter just started high school.
“I thought about this for a long time,” Roslansky wrote. “It’s the right call. The work now goes to leaders who are set up to take it further. I can’t wait to see what they do with it.”
Satya Nadella confirmed the decision
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said in a recent blog post that Roslansky will stay at the company “through the end of the calendar year” as an advisor to him and will support the transition.
“Ryan leaves the organization in a strong position,” Nadella wrote.
Under Roslansky’s leadership, LinkedIn has grown from 700 million to 1.3 billion members.
In-person mandates could prompt resignations
A return-to-office mandate is often seen as a “layoff in disguise,” according to a 2024 report from Bamboo HR. The report suggests that return-to-office mandates could prompt workers to resign.
About one-quarter of vice presidents and C-suite leaders surveyed said they hoped a stricter in-office policy would produce “voluntary turnover.” Meanwhile, 28% of remote employees said they would consider leaving if required to report to an office five days a week.
The strategy did not always produce the attrition employers expected. About 40% of executives and managers surveyed said they had to carry out layoffs over the prior year after stricter return-to-office rules failed to drive as many employee departures as anticipated.
The report warned that forcing dissatisfied workers back to the office could carry longer-term costs.
“This level of dissatisfaction could lead to a further drain of talent, affecting not just morale but also the stability and innovation potential of the workforce,” the study said.
Key Takeaways
- After nearly two decades at LinkedIn, CEO Ryan Roslansky is leaving.
- He determined that to effectively lead the company, he would have to show up in person at Microsoft’s Redmond, Washington headquarters.
- Roslansky announced that he is moving on rather than accept the significant return-to-office change to his working arrangement.
A new development shows that even senior executives consider leaving their jobs over requirements to show up to work in person. Microsoft is losing its LinkedIn CEO after nearly two decades, after he determined that he would have to show up in person to effectively lead the company — and he said that was a price he wasn’t willing to pay.
LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky, who has been with the company for 18 years and led it for six years, announced this month that he was leaving in a LinkedIn post. His exit has everything to do with where he works.
Roslansky said his decision was shaped in part by the prospect of relocating to Redmond, Washington, to work in Microsoft’s headquarters every day. Microsoft has broadly been tightening up its return-to-office policy. As of February, employees who live within 50 miles of an office have to work on-site at least three times a week.
