Max Spevack Role Expansion - Formalized Authority
Situation
Announced to engineering that Max takes a dedicated leadership role spanning Linux Engineering and RAT, reporting directly to Peter. Max acts with Peters authority in meetings, serves as quality gate for major decisions, shapes engineering culture, and is an escalation point outside the management chain.
Reasoning
Primarily about formalizing what was already in place. Max was already exercising this authority informally - this announcement gives him explicit organizational backing. Secondary benefits include freeing Max for higher-leverage strategic work (architecture, culture) now that Justin has RAT running well, and creating a clear quality gate and escalation path that doesnt bottleneck through Peter directly.
Additional Context
Justin has successfully taken over RAT leadership. Max needed explicit authority to match the role he was already performing. Engineering org benefits from clarity on Maxs position and authority.
People Involved
Max Spevack, Nathan Blackham, Justin Haynes
Source
reflection
AI Confidence
82%
Related Context
slack
Starting now, Max takes on a dedicated leadership role spanning Linux Engineering and RAT. He still reports directly to me... When hes there, you can assume hes acting with the same authority I would.
Follow-up Todos
Suggest follow-up todoOutcome
Communicated broadly. No pushback. Non-issue.
Recorded on January 13, 2026
Decision ID: 3051c257-0a70-4398-a702-1e43251ad945