Pros
Some very cool people, projects, ideas, and exciting work. Well known in some of the industries they work. Not a bad place to be an alumni. In the end, glad I worked there, happy I left.
Cons
I didn't think in 2016 there was a place that still was so outdated on their hiring practices and treatment of women and minorities. With a few exceptions I can count on one hand, the only women are in "traditional" corporate roles like HR and marketing, and the only black people are in the back office working on ops or finance. I worked there for several years and to my knowledge there are not any client-facing black people. In my time there I consistently heard conversations about women coworkers' bodies and behind-their-back nicknames based in someone's race, body type, or religion. As someone who doesn't consider themselves politically correct, who is not easily offended, and who can get along with a wide range of people, I often felt incredibly uncomfortable. Control Risks' does an incredible job of hiring the best and the brightest to staff their offices around the world, and then for some reason won't let those people run those offices or lead in much of a capacity. They instead send white British or American men to run the Latin America, Asia, or Africa offices. Despite a range of masters degrees and PhDs among the staff, there is rarely a citizen of that country running those offices. Finally, you can't discuss Control Risks with out mentioning the drinking. As someone who can take care of a bottle of wine on my own, never in a million years would I have thought that the drinking habits of a company would truly surprise me. The behavior that ensues is problematic--strip clubs, propositioning coworkers--but in line with what one would assume after working there for a while. What I found to be shocking is how entrenched it is as part of the culture, how it fuels the fratty atmosphere, and how it takes the everyday transgressions and magnifies these issues to define the company. Control Risks, more then most companies, is really big on "culture fit". And as long as that's a euphemism for young, white men who are all from the same club, enjoy a good laugh, are big drinkers, all have the same ideas, and don't object to misogyny or racism, then the company will proceed as it is now. But the optimist in me hopes that such ideas won't last long in this day and age.
