Ancestry CEO advises executives not to be “reactionary” in the downturn

Liu joined Ancestry, the world’s largest for-profit genealogy company, as the new CEO in 2021, just three months after investment management firm Blackstone bought the company and took it private for $4.7 billion. She was tasked with gaining more subscribers, a goal that required reaching more customers of color and expanding internationally.

Today the young CEO faces new stumbling blocks. The company must now face an increasingly volatile market and incessant slowdown in the tech industry, an environment that Liu says is easier to navigate without the additional obligations that come with going public.

“I think in uncertain times it’s actually better to be a private company because you can invest in the future and you don’t have to worry about what you have to pay for quarter by quarter,” Liu said on stage.

When it comes to layoffs across the tech industry, Liu believes companies that “prepare the best” will be the ones that “emerge stronger on the other side.” She added that it is important for leaders to avoid being “reactionary” while preparing for what is to come.

Prior to her role at Ancestry, Liu was a vice president at Meta – which faced mass layoffs of its own just last week. She said it’s easy to criticize her former employer, but Meta and its properties like WhatsApp and Instagram are a “vital part of society.”

“There’s a lot going on in technology right now, there’s a lot of research going on,” said Liu. “And that’s something that’s going to continue for a longer period of time.”