According to Hulls, he’s burned out.
Hulls wrote that he told the board two years ago when he turned 40 he wanted to transition out of the CEO position before he turned 45, and when the company and the senior leadership team were ready for it. Hulls is stepping aside now to serve as executive chairman because the CEO role should be held by someone who is “all in on every aspect of it, every single day, and that’s Lauren,” he wrote. Hulls said his brain isn’t wired for cleaned-up messages and superlatives common in CEO communications.
“I’ve never overhyped or played into the Silicon Valley kool-aid drinking tech bro stereotypes,” wrote Hulls.
Antonoff’s appointment took effect this week.
Among tech firms, 138 CEOs left their roles through June 2025, a 16% increase over 2024. Challenger attributed the rise in CEOs heading for the hills to uncertainty, seismic shifts in tech, and mounting pressure on traditional leadership structures. The firm found one-third of new CEOs were interim appointments rather than full-fledged, succession-vetted replacements.
Overall, some 47% of CEO replacements came from outside the company while internal appointments, like Antonoff’s at Life360, occurred 53% of the time. Only 25% of new CEO appointments in 2025 so far are women.
Hulls said he and Antonoff are completely aligned when it comes to Life360 users and long-term vision, but in other ways the two are “polar opposites.”
“The challenges that wear me down at this scale are exactly the ones that fire her up,” Hulls wrote. “She’s fresh, relentless, and loves the work. I can call her at midnight to talk Life360, and she’s not just available, she’s energized.”
Over the past year, Hulls and Antonoff have been testing out a setup in which Hulls served as exec chair with Antonoff steadily taking on more and more responsibility for the day-to-day operations of the company, he wrote. Hulls and Antonoff found the two “click in a way that makes product work a joy.”
In a statement, Antonoff thanked Hulls.
“Chris has been an amazing partner, and I’m thankful to him and the Board for the trust and confidence they have placed in me. I’m energized and honored to lead the company forward, staying grounded in our mission and focused on delighting our members with products that deliver real peace of mind.”
Hulls said he’ll be there if Antonoff needs her.
“If she ever needs a pit-fighter, I’ll be here to tussle—whether that’s taking on patent trolls, bottom-feeding class action lawyers, causing trouble on TikTok, or injecting a little crazy in a way only a founder can,” wrote Hulls.
