[mattlondon]

Not a CTO but I fairly recently went from an engineering manager at a Big Co (I had 8 to 12 engineer reports, some junior, some more senior than myself) to an IC engineer at the same company.

If nothing else I think I am a much better engineer as a result of several years of being a manager because now I know the "other side of the coin" and won't shy away from the people-parts of engineering. I am much happier and way, way, way less stressed. I think other engineers respect the decisions and you have greater impact and influence since you are a great engineer AND you can also do the management dance so others look to you as a natural leader.

I'd recommend a few years as an engineering manager for any aspiring engineer.