Goldman Sachs → Juilliard → CEO of a C++ Nonprofit

Harry Bott is CEO of the C++ Alliance — and his path to leading a technology nonprofit is anything but conventional.

Before joining the Alliance, Harry worked in fixed-income research at Goldman Sachs, studied music at Columbia and Juilliard, and spent time as a choir director and organist.

That musical background still shapes how he thinks about leadership.

Harry’s philosophy is simple: a conductor makes no sound during a concert. He doesn’t play a single note. His job is to bring talented people together and help them move toward a shared outcome.

As a self-described “100% delegator,” Harry believes that once you’ve found the best person for a job, the goal should be to let them fully use their talents rather than micromanage them.

That philosophy fits the culture of the C++ Alliance — a deliberately shallow hierarchy built around highly independent developers, contributors, and technical leaders.

Harry also discusses the Alliance’s broader mission: protecting and enhancing the Boost libraries while helping make the project relevant for C++26 and beyond.

And yes — somewhere along the way, he sits down at an organ and demonstrates what “pull out all the stops” actually means.