A social media post shared by the CEO of a cybersecurity company about her husband has gone viral. Stacey Champagne, CEO of cybersecurity company Hackers in Heels, jokingly criticised her husband’s lack of achievements in 2024 on professional networking site LinkedIn. The post went viral with hundreds of comments and sparked a debate about work-life balance.
In the post, Champagne playfully calls out her husband for his “zero achievements” during the year. Champagne’s husband, Jesse Sciuto, who is an US Navy personnal also responds to the post adding to the playful banter. Meanwhile, some users compared the post to the end-of-year performance reviews.
What Stacey Champagne said about her husband
In the LinkedIn post, Champagne wrote: “I had multiple clear-cut career accomplishments in 2024. My husband? Zero.
No certifications.
No college courses completed.
No documentary features.
No awards.
“How do you *do* that?!” I asked from across the dining table, “how are you able to go through a whole year without doing any of these sort of things and be OK?”
He didn’t have a response.
There is so much to unpack and learn from an exchange like this.
Specifically—what’s standing in the way of MY ability to be content without conventional markers of accomplishment?
My gut says that this is a question that many people, namely high-performing women, grapple with too.
I don’t have an answer, but I’m curious what your thoughts are:
Could you go a year without a single new certification, interview, award, promotion and be OK with yourself for it?
Would you think of a colleague, direct report, manager, friend, or spouse differently for not doing so?”
Replying to his wife’s post, Sciuto wrote: “I’m Stacey’s husband… hi. First off: the point of Stacey’s post is that she approves of my lack of quals/certs and wishes she could reach my level of zen.
One of the best parts of the Navy is that they have told me exactly what they value and what they want me to achieve, so I already did all of that. I’m dual warfare qualified, have a STEM Master’s, and I’ve completed all qualifications and requirements for my current rank and the next rank. Civilians don’t have that luxury. Stacey has to constantly compete and guess what could help her or give her the edge. That sounds like a nightmare to me. I want to see a manual and a checklist.
I had 10 pretty rough years and then spent two years at grad school. In January last year I, a communications officer in the Navy, started a job trying roll out a CRM tool to a massive organization. That same month I learned what CRM stood for.
I spent the last year learning my vastly new job, getting back into shape, and enjoying my hobbies. I do all of our grocery shopping and cook all of our meals (because I love to cook) which has freed up time for Stacey so she could continue to be the amazing badass she is. I’m the most content I have ever been. Getting CISSP this year though.”
