An AI exec is stepping down, citing workload and stress. Here's how 10 business leaders stave off burnout.
Thinking Machines cofounder Lilian Weng has resigned from her role, citing health issues exacerbated by the intense stress of the startup environment. The article uses her departure to highlight burnout prevention strategies employed by other prominent business leaders.
Why it matters
It highlights the growing mental health crisis in the high-pressure tech and startup sectors, prompting a broader conversation about sustainable leadership.
Jeff Bezos, Arianna Huffington, and Michael Dell have all shared strategies for keeping burnout at bay. Chesnot/Getty Images, Kristina Bumphrey/WWD via Getty Images, Jay Janner/The Austin American-Statesman via Getty Images Thinking Machines cofounder Lilian Weng resigned Tuesday, citing illness worsened by startup stress. Leaders from Bezos to Huffington have long shared how they keep burnout at bay. Their strategies range from protected Sundays to making it home for family dinner. Lilian Weng, a cofounder of Thinking Machines Lab and former OpenAI safety executive, announced her resignation from her role on Tuesday. In a note to colleagues, later shared on X, she wrote that seven months of recurring illness, made worse by the relentless pace of startup life, had left her unable to give the job the full effort she felt it demanded.
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