[exelius]

Not at all. Carbon is a company; and building a company is just as difficult as building a technology (though a totally different skill set).

It's not that engineers aren't important, but they shouldn't be running the company. It's not the skill they have cultivated. They do still probably have a significant equity stake, so all is not lost.

[chrisbennet]

I don't disagree that engineers bring a different skill set to the mix. The last thing you might want is engineers or scientists running a young company - though Microsoft, Google, Facebook, HP, Honda, Fairchild, Porsche, etc. turned out OK. ;-)

I just find it odd that Dr. Alex Ermoshkin the co-founder is listed somewhere after "Head of Customer Engagement" for example.

I just noticed that they are listed under the heading "North Carolina Office" and not "Leadership Team" so perhaps it is a simple as academics wanting to stay in academia.

[exelius]

Yeah, that's what I would guess. Many academics simply have no interest in running a business (often because they've tried and found that engineering is more fun).