Top 25 remote work influencers
Who are the top remote work influencers?
The top remote work influencers are the CEOs and founders, from Job van der Voort of Remote to Marc Benioff of Salesforce, who keep flexible work alive and shape how the modern workplace runs.
- These leaders champion remote and hybrid work across many industries.
- Each one shows a different way to keep teams productive from anywhere.
- Together, they prove flexible work is here to stay.
The world moved fast into remote work in the early 2020s. Since then, many people have gained back more of their lives outside of work.
As companies keep refining their approach to remote work, it stays a strong option for employers. In turn, their employees thank them for it. Many also lean on smart remote work tools to make it work.
The top 25 remote work influencers in their industries
Leading the charge are the heads of companies that still offer remote work. Many others have pushed staff back to the office.
Across many industries, these top remote work influencers keep changing how the workplace runs. For a wider view, see the core benefits of remote work. Their choices also feed the rise of flexible work across the economy.
- Job van der Voort, Remote
- Shantanu Narayen, Adobe
- Andy Jassy, Amazon
- Vas Narasimhan, Novartis
- Tim Cook, Apple
- Drew Houston, Dropbox
- Adam D’Angelo, Quora
- Hayden Brown, Upwork
- Harley Finkelstein, Shopify
- Tom Kulzer, AWeber Communications
- Mike Gianoni, Blackbaud
- Stewart Butterfield, Slac
- Daniel Ek, Spotify
- Sid Sijbrandij, GitLab
- Kiersten Robinson, Ford
- Linda Höglund, Klarna
- Marc Benioff, Salesforce
- Roland Busch, Siemens
- Ryan Roslansky, LinkedIn
- Eric Artz, REI
- Hidenobu Takahata, Hitachi
- Kirt Walker, Nationwide
- Scott Farquhar, Atlassian
- Michael L. Tipsord, State Farm
- John H. Chuang, Aquent
Top remote work influencers
1. Job van der Voort, Remote
Job van der Voort once served as VP of GitLab. Later, he founded the HR tech startup Remote after seeing hiring problems across locations. These covered local laws, benefits, and payroll.
At GitLab, one of the early remote-work leaders, he grew the team from 5 to hundreds. In fact, he hired remotely all over the world.
“Ultimately I believe that everyone should be able to enjoy a good work-life balance and work for a good salary, no matter where they live,” he says.
He believes the shift changed how companies hire, onboard, and retain. Still, he says the trend needs HR tech and integration tools to last. Remote aims to help, with tools that make global employment simple and accessible.
2. Shantanu Narayen, Adobe
Adobe employees stayed productive while working from home. So the firm was in no rush to bring them back.
Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen was careful about the return. He did not want to bring people back too early.
However, Narayen stresses that offices still matter, just in a new form. He sees real benefits to in-person work that remote setups cannot always match.
3. Andy Jassy, Amazon
Andy Jassy sent a company-wide memo to Amazon staff. In it, office workers gained freedom over where they work. That could be remote, in an office, or hybrid.
He said there is no one-size-fits-all approach. So the company would keep testing, learning, and adjusting.
What mattered more was that people chose what fit their lives. Still, Jassy set one caveat: keep the customer’s interests in mind.
4. Vas Narasimhan, Novartis
Novartis CEO Vas Narasimhan told Bloomberg that work will “always be a combination going forward.” In other words, remote and office work will mix.
Novartis expects remote work to last. As a result, the company is even reshaping its office space.
The firm set up a “Choice of Responsibility” model that allows remote work. So employees can choose where and when to work. Narasimhan notes this also opened new talent pools.
5. Tim Cook, Apple
Apple CEO Tim Cook calls its hybrid policy “the mother of all experiments.” So the company may still shift its model.
He prefers the “serendipity” of in-person meetings. Still, he says virtual work is “different, but not inferior.”
The key, he says, is to use the strengths of both. However, Apple has been strict about bringing staff back to offices.
6. Drew Houston, Dropbox
Dropbox is studying how software can ease burnout in hybrid work. Houston supports the model. Still, he sees downsides, like workers feeling isolated at home.
“There’s so many great things about the remote environment,” Houston said. “But there’s no substitute for the in-person experience.”
So the company set up a “virtual-first” model. Teams visit a “Dropbox Studio” now and then for group work. In this way, Houston hopes to keep staff and recruit widely.
7. Adam D’Angelo, Quora
Quora CEO Adam D’Angelo shifted the company to remote work. He noted that 60% of workers chose to stay home even when they did not have to.
“There are a few factors that add up to the surprisingly high productivity and preference for remote work,” he said.
He now sees the benefit of hiring people worldwide. Still, he knows the model is not perfect, and the office will remain. So he values the time saved from skipping the commute.
8. Hayden Brown, Upwork
For Upwork, the trend is one more step toward a flexible, remote-first workplace it has long built.
After all, its business connects remote talent with clients worldwide, even Fortune 500 firms.
“Building on our 20 years of experience as a remote work company, we are now permanently embracing a ‘remote-first’ model,” Brown stated. So the team uses Google Docs, Slack, and video greetings to stay close.
9. Harley Finkelstein, Shopify
Remote work is not new at Shopify. In fact, the company set up the model back in 2014, while its headquarters was under construction.
“We’ve actually gone as far as to change the dateline in Shopify press releases from ‘Ottawa, Canada’ to ‘Internet, Everywhere,'” Finkelstein said.
A key tenet is that they do not dictate where you live. So work should be built around mission, not headquarters. He adds that office space now strengthens company culture and turns into a communal space.
10. Tom Kulzer, AWeber Communications
AWeber, a leader in small business email marketing software, moved to a fully remote-first workforce. CEO Tom Kulzer believes this move will benefit the company, team, and customers for years.
“This shift was decided with our team members’ and customers’ best interests at heart,” he said.
He also hopes to welcome team members from across the globe. As a result, the team gains more diverse experience and knowledge.
11. Mike Gianoni, Blackbaud
“Our dedicated employees have continued to deliver against our goals while working remotely,” said Mike Gianoni, president and CEO of Blackbaud. “The shift to a digital-first world continues to accelerate, and we’re embracing that.”
Blackbaud is a leading cloud software company that powers social good. It has already seen success with a remote approach.
For example, job openings drew more applicants from groups long underrepresented in tech. Gianoni says career growth now rests on performance, not office hours. In addition, remote work cuts the company’s carbon footprint.
12. Stewart Butterfield, Slack
Slack CEO Stewart Butterfield is more flexible on return-to-office than you might expect.
His company’s messaging tool is now a big part of remote work. So Slack has studied the future of work closely. Butterfield firmly believes hybrid is here to stay.
He was also critical of leaders who demanded a fast return to offices. Still, he sees nuance, since in-person work builds a different network of relationships. After all, it is remote-first, not remote-only.
13. Daniel Ek, Spotify
Spotify CEO Daniel Ek introduced a “Work from Anywhere” model. So employees can work in the office, at home, or in a mix of both.
Along with this, the company changed its salary policy to set pay by country, not city.
As a result, attrition fell and employee diversity rose. In addition, the company’s time to hire went down.
14. Sid Sijbrandij, GitLab
Sid Sijbrandij, CEO and co-founder of GitLab, wants to avoid the bias remote work can bring. For example, a “two-class system” could form, where managers see office staff as more productive.
He noted that the old model rewarded attendance over output. So many companies may find that habit hard to drop. Still, he hopes this will change.
Since it launched in 2011, GitLab has run on a remote-only model. In fact, it now has staff spread across dozens of countries.
15. Kiersten Robinson, Ford
Ford was the first automotive giant to make a permanent shift to hybrid work.
To do this well, it ran several employee surveys. These covered the return to the office, the challenges of home work, and overall wellbeing.
“A lot of our assumptions around work and what employees need has shifted,” Kiersten Robinson of Ford said. So the move aims to give staff a better work-life balance and save commute time.
16. Linda Höglund, Klarna
Klarna employees can choose to work remotely, from the office, or abroad for 20 days a year at a Klarna office.
“We are excited to combine the power of face-to-face interactions with effective remote work,” CEO Linda Höglund announced. So the hybrid model aims to empower staff and boost collaboration.
The company based this on years of experience. As a result, it balances employee wishes with overall productivity. In turn, the policy should help recruiting.
17. Marc Benioff, Salesforce
“Office mandates are never going to work,” Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff declared. His view matches the company policy that lets employees choose where to work.
He and co-CEO Bret Taylor see this flexibility as a recruiting tool. As Taylor put it, “Top talent can work from anywhere.”
Benioff stands firm on remote work, and data backs him. For example, workers with flexible schedules tend to be more productive and loyal. The model also helps Slack, a Salesforce division and a common home-work tool.
18. Roland Busch, Siemens
“These changes will be associated with a different leadership style, one that focuses on outcomes rather than on time spent at the office,” Busch said. So Siemens now sharpens its profile as a flexible employer.
His message carried two ideas. First, focus on outcomes, not office hours. Second, trust your employees.
Together, they form a smart management strategy built on trust. After all, if you cannot trust your employees, why hire them?
19. Ryan Roslansky, LinkedIn
The LinkedIn CEO shared a memo on trusting people to work however and whenever works best.
“We’re embracing flexibility with both hybrid and remote roles,” he said. So the company removed the old rule of being in the office half the time.
He knows that working from home is a skill, and some people need coaching. Still, trusting employees to choose their style can build an engaged workforce.
20. Eric Artz, REI
Retail and outdoor company REI moved to remote work as it sold its nearly finished campus. So the goal was a less centralized approach.
“Remote working will move from a temporary solve to a more engrained, supported, and normalized model,” Artz wrote.
He said the shift pushed the company to rethink every part of its business. As a result, he expects the more distributed model to unlock real potential.
21. Hidenobu Takahata, Hitachi
At Hitachi, CEO Hidenobu Takahata set up a flexible system that allows a four-day work week. So the aim is to lift engagement and productivity. The move also helps attract new hires.
“A large share of staff worked from home, which let us play our part in preventing infections,” Takahata noted.
The company also surveyed staff to learn the benefits and challenges of remote work. In this way, it puts quality of work ahead of long hours.
22. Kirt Walker, Nationwide
Nationwide plans to move permanently to a hybrid operating model.
The company had quickly shifted to remote work to protect staff health and wellbeing.
“We’ve been investing in our technological capabilities for years, and those investments really paid off,” CEO Kirt Walker said. As a result, the firm kept strong service levels throughout.
23. Scott Farquhar, Atlassian
Atlassian is going all in on remote work. Its “Team Anywhere” policy lets staff work in any country where the firm has a legal entity and matching time zones.
To test the limits, the company even ran a playful experiment about working from space.
“Charlie will spend the week in orbit testing the limits of distributed teamwork,” Farquhar said. So he believes talent exists anywhere, even outside Silicon Valley. He expects office visits about four times a year.
24. Michael L. Tipsord, State Farm
State Farm is adding a more flexible way of working. So employees will split time between the office and home.
This approach helps the company run efficiently for customers. Meanwhile, it gives current and future staff a more flexible setting.
Leaders will work with employees to set how much time is spent on site. As a result, everyone keeps learning and adapting to remote work.
25. John H. Chuang, Aquent
John H. Chuang, CEO of Aquent, says the shift forced a generation of change in a matter of months.
He also believes the change in work, including remote work, is here to stay.
For example, people save time by skipping the commute and gain a better work-life balance. So he expects more industries to offer remote work. In turn, more companies will hire people in many areas, not just their own.
Remote work influencers FAQ
What is a remote work influencer?
A remote work influencer is a leader who shapes how people work outside the office. Most are CEOs or founders who set flexible policies and speak out on the future of work.
Which companies lead on remote and hybrid work?
Remote, Upwork, GitLab, and Atlassian lead on fully remote or “work anywhere” models. Others, like Microsoft, Salesforce, and Spotify, back strong hybrid setups.
Is remote work still growing?
Yes. Many leaders expect flexible work to keep spreading across industries. It has also fueled the rise of the digital nomad lifestyle. For teams new to it, learning how to build a remote team is a smart first step.
What do these leaders say makes remote work succeed?
Most point to trust, clear outcomes, and the right tools. Many also value some in-person time to build culture and relationships.
Does remote work suit every role?
No. Some roles need on-site presence or hands-on work. Still, more jobs now support remote or hybrid options than ever before.
Key takeaways
- Top remote work influencers are leaders who keep flexible work moving forward.
- They span tech, finance, retail, and manufacturing, each with its own model.
- Common themes are trust, a focus on outcomes, and the right tools.
- Fully remote firms include Remote, Upwork, GitLab, and Atlassian.
- Flexible work is now a proven way to hire and keep top talent.
Independent
