Jan. 27, 2012
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Do CEOs need to be jerks to be successful? An informal survey of Boston-area tech CEOs suggests that while it helps to be tough and demanding, it’s much less beneficial to be a jerk than it used to be. The possible reasons: global trends towards more collaboration and corporate transparency, and increased competition for talent. Interestingly, an earlier private meeting of local CEOs yielded a different answer: that nice guys do finish last, with some exceptions.
In other innovation news, Hewlett-Packard is the latest tech giant to open a new office in Cambridge. The facility, next to Alewife Station, serves as the new headquarters of Vertica, the data analytics software company that HP bought for $300 million last year.
Monster Worldwide, the parent company of Massachusetts-founded Monster.com, revealed that it's shedding 400 jobs, or about 7 percent of its worldwide staff, as part of a restructuring plan.
And Bedford-based cancer drug developer Avila Therapeutics is being acquired by Celgene for $350 million. Avila is eligible for another $575 million in milestone payments, which could make the deal a 15x return for investors.
The weekly roundup of business, technology and life science news from our partners at Xconomy.com airs every Friday on 89.7 Boston Public Radio.
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