Why Merge CEO Shensi Ding stays hands-on with Codex

“If you're an executive, you are the ceiling for AI fluency for your organization.” Merge co-founder and CEO Shensi Ding manages the non-R&D side of the business. She also codes. With Codex, she asked for help redesigning a feature without prescribing the solution. It drew on Merge’s existing design system, proposed different approaches and helped her work through difficult UX decisions. That kind of experimentation has changed how she runs the business. When Shensi and her co-founder built Merge’s second product themselves, what they learned shaped the expectations they set for their teams. Employees are encouraged to choose their tools and spend time testing ideas. Non-engineering teammates can build tools for their own workflows without waiting for engineering. For Shensi, the cost of trying an idea has changed—and with it, the calculation of what’s worth pursuing. Staying hands-on helps her recognize where the business can move faster, test more possibilities and give people greater autonomy to build.