The Death of the CEO: How Basetis Rewrote the Rules of Work

I wasn’t feeling 100%, but Marc and Andreu, two people at the dinner from a company called Basetis, had me hooked with their dry humor and nonchalant mannerisms.

Joost fired off loads of questions to learn more about Basetis, but something stood out: Marc and Andreu didn’t label things, name processes, or reference frameworks. Every answer they gave was grounded in common sense and natural progression.

Explaining their organizational structure wasn’t like reciting a well-rehearsed pitch—it was raw, real, and fluid.

Founded in 2009 as a small software development company, Basetis initially followed the standard playbook. You know the drill: a CEO at the top, managers in the middle, and employees at the bottom. But by 2015, with 150 employees and a growing sense of bureaucratic drag, founder Marc Castells decided to do something radical.

He didn’t just flatten the hierarchy. He ‘killed’ the CEO role.

They didn’t set out to “implement self-management” or “disrupt leadership.” They simply removed what wasn’t working and doubled down on trust—with striking results.

Step 1: Remove the decision-maker (Eliminate bottlenecks)

Like any company rethinking the way it works, Basetis started by questioning authority—literally. It’s a challenge we see often in our Masterclass on self-management—companies realizing that traditional structures are holding them back.

The CEO position? Gone. Hierarchical management? Scrapped. In its place, they created fluid, self-organizing teams that decide how to work, who to work with, and how to structure themselves.

How it works:

• Service Teams (Autonomy & Flexibility): Small, specialized units focus on areas like AI, mobile development, or data analytics. No micromanagement. Just experts running their own show.
• Client-Focused Services (Dynamic & Evolving): Long-term client projects are handled with maximum flexibility—some involve independent consultants, while others require adaptable teams that evolve as projects change.
• Support Areas (No more top-down policies): HR, finance, and other support areas now serve teams instead of imposing rules, ensuring employees get what they need without bureaucracy.
• The Global Team (Elected, not selected): Employees vote for a group of advisors—not executives—to provide guidance, not orders.
• The Representation Group (Handling external perception): No CEO? No problem. A rotating group represents Basetis to clients and partners, ensuring a clear point of contact without centralized power.

Marc himself acknowledged how radical this shift seemed at first. “We didn’t know that it works before, and now we know that it works.” Many assume that distributing decisions will lead to chaos, but Basetis found the opposite. Trusting people made the organization stronger.

Step 2: Distribute leadership (Replace control with trust)

If you really want to transform a company, challenge traditional power structures. Marc Castells did exactly that.

“I really don’t like the abuse of power. When power is not well managed or not well used, it gets easy to use this power in not a good way. I didn’t want roles that people could stay in forever.”

That’s why Basetis removed the CEO position. Originally, the company elected a CEO through the Global Team, but Marc quickly realized that the role didn’t fit the way Basetis actually functioned.

“The CEO is supposed to be the Chief Executive Officer. But we don’t have that kind of executive decision-making in our organization. Global gives advice, not orders. The role didn’t make sense.”

As Andreu put it, “We do not relate with our couples the same way as a hundred years ago. So obviously at the work level, these relationships have not been adapted. We are only working in this evolution and adaptation.”

The problem: Clients still expected a CEO.

The solution: The Representation Group. Instead of one person making all the external decisions, Basetis selects different representatives based on expertise and situation. No default figurehead, just the right person for the job.

“We had clients saying, ‘I want to talk to the CEO.’ But we didn’t have one anymore. So we built a new group—the Representation Group. Now, we choose the best person for each situation.”

Why it works:

• Eliminates decision bottlenecks.
• Prevents power from getting concentrated at the top.
• Encourages teams to take ownership.

Step 3: Make salaries transparent (and navigate the challenges)

Rethinking compensation can be tricky, and it’s something we discuss often in our Masterclass—how to create fair, transparent systems that actually work.

One way is to start by making salaries completely transparent.

At Basetis, salary decisions aren’t made behind closed doors. Employees nominate three peers who independently propose a salary for them—without knowing what the individual has suggested for themselves. If the proposals align, it’s approved. If there are discrepancies, a discussion follows to reach a fair agreement.

How it works:

• No secret salaries: Everyone knows what everyone else earns.
• Peer-based salary proposals: Instead of setting their own salary, employees are reviewed by three colleagues who propose a salary independently—without knowing what the individual has suggested for themselves.
• No rigid formula: Instead of standardized grids, peer discussions determine fairness.

This approach removes mystery from compensation and builds trust. The challenge? Ensuring strong feedback mechanisms so salary reviews don’t feel arbitrary.

Step 4: Embrace ‘productive flexibility’ (and make it work)

Self-management isn’t anarchy. But it does mean rethinking how things get done:

• No top-down orders. Instead, teams follow an advice process—ask for input, then decide.
• No static structure. Teams evolve, dissolve, and reshape based on work needs.
• No single leader. Just shared responsibility and real accountability.

The unexpected result? More engagement, faster decision-making, and employees who actually enjoy coming to work.

The next move? Killing the owner.

If removing the CEO was a bold step, Basetis isn’t stopping there. Marc is already thinking ahead: “I still have power as the owner of the organization. I don’t use it a lot, but I still have it. And that’s something we are learning about—ownership. We’re exploring steward ownership and figuring out if another way of ownership is better.”

This isn’t just about leadership—it’s about shifting the fundamental structure of power and control.

“That’s the next step. The next step is to kill the owner.”

Basetis is actively researching models that ensure power is truly distributed—not just in decision-making, but in ownership itself. The ultimate goal? A company that runs entirely on trust, without dependence on a single leader or owner.

Final advice from Basetis: How to (successfully) reinvent work

Still think self-management is too risky? Basetis leaders offer this advice:

• Trust people. Most organizations struggle because they don’t.
• Self-management isn’t radical. It’s just a natural evolution of work.
• Not everything needs a policy. Sometimes, common sense is enough.
• Iterate, don’t copy. Your company isn’t Basetis, so find what works for you.
• Expect skeptics. But do it anyway.
• Celebrate your wins. Mark emphasized, “We focus so much on what we need to improve, but we should also take a moment to recognize what we’re doing well.”

Basetis proves that rethinking the rules doesn’t mean breaking the company. In fact, it might just be the smartest thing you ever do.

Want to break free from traditional management?

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