I don’t work for Quora, or know the specifics of this situation, but I am answering as a general business advisor and experienced hiring manager.
A VP of Engineering is a role that requires a very specific skillset, in both experience and personality. The person who steps into this role can’t just be a great engineer, they also need to be an amazing people manager, great at product development and also very task oriented (among many other things.)
Quora either may have felt that they didn’t have anyone who fit all their job requirements out of the gate, or they felt they had multiple potential politically motivated candidates and the culture would be better served by a neutral third party to lead them.
I recommend that companies use tests such as Caliper Hiring Assessment
or The iWAM Assessment when hiring for any key roles so they can ensure they are getting the right candidates for their open position and their existing team.
Originally Posted: https://www.quora.com/Why-did-Quora-hire-its-VP-of-engineering-externally-instead-of-promoting-from-within
Originally Posted On: 2015-01-30