Thread by @PaulDJohnston

Why is it that at every "big" conference, the speakers on panels are mostly "CXO of VeryBigCorp"?

I ask this because, as someone who has mostly avoided taking senior roles in VeryBigCorps (for reasons) it makes me feel like unless I go down that path, my voice is somehow "less"

I am not saying that these people aren't good. Many are.

What I am saying is that not having (or having had) a title at a VeryBigCorp does not mean your opinion has no value.

And if you want a good example of an area where this matters:

#climatechange

Scientists in the #ClimateChange world have long fought the lobbyists of VeryBigCorps for the oxygen of publicity.

Is it any wonder that in the world of business, where the *title* is everything, that we make sure that at conferences we have the best company titles on display?

A person who spent 20-30 years researching a specific field and became a Professor is, in my view, far more interesting and valuable than someone who (more often than not it seems) grew up in privilege, went to the right College/University, got an MBA and had the right friends

Speaking to the tech industry specifically, we give out titles to people like candy, and more often than not it is little to do with their ability and more to do with luck as to which of those succeed and fail.

Essentially it is a lottery and rarely do we show discernment.

The number of times I've heard something like:

"Not even Spotify follow the Spotify model"