@albertcardona @MartinEscardo @johncarlosbaez
Some structure needs to perform a leadership function. As other commenters mention, the 501c3 + CEO is a standard setup over here, and given we are working with a geo center in NYC there is quite a lot that a CEO figure can achieve not only inside arXiv, but also externally.
Our main challenge is sustaining arXiv's level of service and preserving its core mission in the face of growing scale. That doesn't require a CEO for daily operations, but it requires some leadership structure for the long-term direction. And longevity is a core part of the mission of an archive.