---
id: "entity-stewart-butterfield"
type: "entity"
source_timestamps: ["§ Choose the Right Model"]
tags: ["founder", "case-study"]
related: ["framework-founder-role-archetypes"]
entityType: "person"
canonicalName: "Stewart Butterfield"
aliases: []
sources: ["tail2"]
sourceVaultSlug: "hbr-seg-tail2"
originDay: 2
articleStem: "hbr-tail-122-leading-after-founder"
sourceUrl: "https://hbr.org/2026/01/leading-after-the-founder"
sourceTitle: "Leading After the Founder"
---
# Stewart Butterfield

Co-founder and former CEO of Slack. Cited as the example of the **"Founder to strategic adviser"** archetype in [[framework-founder-role-archetypes]]. After Salesforce acquired Slack, he left daily operations to become an informal adviser, offering guidance without interfering in decision-making — the healthy version of a founder who explicitly endorses the new leadership's independence.