Pros

NAVTEQ is in a fascinating industry and is definitely a great place to work considering the technology opportunities in Chicago. There are always new things to do and the industry is very dynamic. The customers are very diverse across auto, Internet, mobile so you learn a lot. The products are interesting - navigation maps are quite complex if you like that kind of stuff. I generally like my teammates very well.

Cons

Despite NAVTEQ being a growing company, opportunities to move up seem to have no rhyme or reason (i.e. not a meritocracy). Entire departments will be promoted and no one else from other departments are promoted - it seems to be who you know. There is little career planning for anyone. There are frequent reorganizations which is disruptive and I question the quality of some leaders who just get shuffled around instead of weeded out. There does not seem to be top down alignment to goals at times and there is a fair amount of politics. Leadership often refuses to make decisions until forced to which creates inefficiency and confusion among the ranks and limits progress.

Advice to Senior Management

Set goals and quantifiable metrics to more effectively run the company, including leadership/management aspects. Weed out ineffective leaders instead of shuffling them around.