Pros
The people: My colleagues were some of the smartest and most driven professionals I’ve ever worked with. They could adapt to shifting demands and still deliver thoughtful, high-quality work.
Opportunity to learn: Because of constant pivots and lack of process, you’ll learn to problem-solve quickly and manage complex situations, but it comes at the cost of burnout.
Small wins: I was able to make progress in positioning of my team as a strategic lever within the organization, but only by pushing uphill against lack of understanding among leadership.
Cons
Toxic leadership culture: Executive leadership is bloated, chaotic, sexist, and bigoted. They dismiss employee contributions and undervalue their expertise.
No process or accountability: Even when processes are built, they’re ignored. Workflows don’t stick. Teams reinvent the wheel constantly.
Meeting overload: Expect 4–6 hours of meetings daily, leaving real work to happen after hours. Work-life balance is non-existent.
Data black hole: Outside of new customers and profit, no actionable data is shared. Optimization is impossible.
Diversity & inclusion is performative: Marketing assets consistently feature thin, white, or light-skinned models, despite repeated recommendations from internal thought leaders to diversify representation. These suggestions were tied directly to proven customer acquisition strategies and industry best practices, but they were consistently ignored by executive leadership.
Brand identity crisis: The brand wants to “stand out and blend in at the same time.” Millions are wasted on agencies whose recommendations are ignored. Leadership clings to vague, empty taglines (“the science that creates balance”) with no real positioning.
Career ceiling: If you care about building thoughtful strategy, or customer-first marketing, you will hit a wall. Leadership is not interested in innovation, only optics.
