Jessie Danyi, who swapped her head of people role at Pleo to become an individual contributor.

Analysis

August 3, 2023

Meet the individual contributors — the company leaders who don’t manage people

Becoming an IC gives an individual autonomy over specific areas and projects — and can offer seniority without the traditional management pathway

MaryLou Costa

7 min read

When the team Jessie Danyi managed swelled to 55 people, she began to feel less connected to each individual, and to her work as head of people at expenses platform Pleo. “You start to not remember people's anniversaries or birthdays, and you just become a lot less human,” she says. “I felt sad that I couldn't be there in the moments with my people, like I was quite detached from them.”

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A headshot of Claire Walsh
Claire Walsh
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Torsten Leibner, an individual contributor at Build38
Torsten Leibner
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Landscape shot of Sam Power, chief growth officer at Abound
Sam Power
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MaryLou Costa

MaryLou Costa is a freelance writer.

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