Anthropic is actively preparing for an initial public offering with an estimated valuation of $965 billion. The AI company is hiring engineers rapidly to keep up with industry rivals in a highly competitive market. But CEO Dario Amodei just revealed a highly unusual detail about how he runs the organization. He only manages one person.
Speaking to Emily Chang on June 10, Amodei explained that his chief of staff, Avital Balwit, is his sole direct report. Everyone else on the executive team answers to his sister, Anthropic President Daniela Amodei. She handles the day-to-day operations and reports directly to the company’s board of directors.
This strict division of labor protects the CEO’s schedule. During a recent Bloomberg interview, Amodei confirmed his single direct report and the operational delegation to Daniela, noting this flat structure supports the company as it approaches its near $1 trillion IPO. He uses this setup to dedicate roughly half of his working hours to high-level research direction, strategy, and company culture. He intentionally avoids the daily operational bottlenecks that slow down other technology executives.
How Anthropic’s Structure Defies Tech Industry Standards
This incredibly flat structure breaks almost every modern management rule, and the contrast is absolutely fascinating. Harvard researchers found the average manager’s span of control rose to 12.1 direct reports in 2025. Anthropic’s closest competitors also take a completely different approach to leadership in the AI space.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang famously maintains around 60 direct reports so he can avoid bureaucratic layers entirely. Over at OpenAI, CEO Sam Altman directly oversees between six and ten executives. By handing all operational control to his sister, Amodei is making a clear bet. He believes his isolated focus on pure science and research direction will give Anthropic a technical edge over rivals bogged down by traditional corporate management.