#leadership

That every year they y have D and MD promotions? Two D's last year, one MD this year so far. Is it Eleanor D's influence?

Just curious why do they have leadership/people in Zug?

After the merit inconsistencies last year, some groups losing bonuses, and now the 401k match being reduced, it feels like employees keep taking the hits. And during the town halls, the leadership messaging doesn’t seem to land anymore. There’s a big disconnect between what’s being said at the top and what people are actually feeling day to day. A lot of us don’t feel understood or valued. Morale feels low, people are tired, and many feel disconnected from the mission.

Good point, @af+1kc2cc38k.

With all these leadership announcements, do we think these senior leaders (Manmohan Mahajan (Finance), Lanesha Minnix (legal), Beth Leonard (Corporate Affairs), Erick Rudiak (CISO), etc., to name a few of the most recent ones) all "decided to leave Walgreens" on their own or, do you think Sycamore laid them off?

That is all Stankey is doing

What does everyone think of the new finance operations leadership in Lake Mary?

President Donald Trump hosts a roundtable with top technology leaders, including IBM CEO Arvind Krishna and Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon, to discuss economic growth and deregulation. Krishna commends the administration’s efforts to simplify business operations and...

https://youtu.be/3Ps37tGEdkw?si=qi7yqTHFdb3EeK8F

Dan, this message is for you.

Restructuring is a strategic necessity, but the way it was executed has exposed a serious problem inside the organization. Many leaders protected low performers simply because they were friends or favorites, while top talent — the people who carried teams, drove results, and supported customers — were the ones eliminated.

We saw the same pattern during the last VSP: some of the strongest minds and most committed employees walked out the door. It’s happening again, and the impact is real. When the people who actually make the company successful are gone, the company doesn’t get stronger — it gets weaker.

Verizon cannot grow if it keeps losing its best people while keeping those who contribute the least. Our customers feel it, our teams feel it, and the culture feels it. Favoritism is not leadership, and it’s not how you build a high-performance organization.

If we want to restore trust, retain talent, and win in the market, we need accountability for how these decisions were made. And we need to start investing in and protecting the hardworking employees who truly move this company forward.

Under Schulman's leadership, are VZ noted hub locations continuing to be a prerequisite for employees to be recognized as being valuable?? Or did the previously defined needs for hub locations get rebuffed and eliminated?

Post after post, thread after thread - I have to correct you all. We hire companies like McKinsey to cut middle management (Dir - VP). Then we "re-org" the remaining headcount (you) as we see fit and fire people managers, and a few of you who speak up too much or we just don't like. Next we go on TV and side with liberal causes to seem woke (wait that stopped, with Chaz...lol never forget that city and M's comment on the 10th or J riding the Segway into the board during his "off air") due to lawyers in DC telling us to with the new administration, so we instead team up with Starlink...but Elon went on TV yesterday saying his $800B val is too low...why because he is ripping the technology off of T-Mobile (and plans to end us with DTC). So with that Morgan drops us $20 today, but it's not over. Stock will dip to $165, test back to $180, and the down to $140...but wait there is more. We will end Prepaid in 1-2 years. Then we will back out of KC/OP slowly lifting us back to $155. But they will realize we don't really do AI, we are a Consumer group of AI, not a Business group...so our stock will test $121...remember? But that's not it...Technology continues to improve, we will cut all of TFB, and start giving away internet and iPhones for free, because we have no other moves...but this destroys our ARPA and eventually..other enter this market with real adjacent businesses and who know AI revenue (not cost), we...go down to $80...well and then we get bought out..at $120/share by Elon....

Yes I am the Real Slim Shady, I am the Satoshi Nakamoto. Want to know anything, ask me...I will reply.

Ding Do-g the witch is dead!!

After 2 years of complete mismanagement including the firing of great leaders and workers, Sandy the bully cried her eyes out on today’s town hall. No sympathy and good riddance.

This is usually a place for bad news but this is the best news I’ve heard in a while.

Hopefully Moira is next.

The Wealth business unit is rapidly declining in appeal. What is Bob's strategy to address this? Given the circumstances, is his expertise more aligned with business leadership or technical operations?

Karen's business stylings are just what we need. Who else can move the stock price 35%.

In my 15 years at PEP they've been beating into my head that "we've got to beat KO". Well, look at PEP vs KO stock performance over the last 5 years. PEP has no strategy and schmucks like Elliott can boss it around and tell it what to do. What a humiliation for clueless Ramon. If he has any dignity left at all he would resign. All he can do now is what Elliott tells him. Fire people, consolidate, cut brands. A schmo from the street have come up with that plan. Running a huge CPG company takes real smarts as Warren Buffett found out through his huge loss in Kraft Heinz. At PEP the entire ELT needs to go. They have proven they have no clue how to run a company like PEP. And Athina, my G*d, she has zero experience running strategy for a company like PEP, just like these Brazilian clowns that ran Kraft Heinz into the ground. They never learn. A clown show,

Just watched Trump blowing smoke up MD's skirt saying MD creates a great product. All Trump Fund talk

Think you had a good party? You don’t know what you are missing. Even in past downturns when they cancelled parties for us and best we could do was a potluck that you had to pay to attend at some neighborhood HOA clubhouse they continue to party like oil is over $100 a barrel!

Why do we keep these big guys with fancy titles, big egos and broken personalities around?

These walking jokes doing menial work that can be done with AI could save some bucks to pay out royalties instead of being insulted by some hillbilly day in and day out.

Ge-z, they even avoid hiring competent people because they will get the job done compared to their endless string of lame excuses.

Is still this place being managed by anybody with integrity?

LBT is using Intel funding to acquire his own companies: SambaNova Systems where LBT is the chairman; Tara where LBT is the investor. Both startup have no customer and is almost dead. LBT is pouring Intel money to invest to himself and his son's company.

Why is LBT able to serve as chairman of so many companies and work for multiple companies, while he asks others to return to the office?

because honestly, he wouldn’t have risen to that level if he was.

It’s just that he is inept, and is horrible at strategic decision making. Which is probably the most important attribute a CEO needs.

You couple that ineptitude with a narcissistic personality disorder, and a complete lack of empathy, and you get what we have here.

How do you get to be an executive and not understand the golden rule of always tell the truth. People respect you when you are truthful and explain why painful things have to be done.
Guess who has z e r o respect? The coward who cannot even answer a question that many employees want to know. What products are considered core?

but glad we learned about the CFO's deadbeat brother I guess?

Every interaction I’ve ever had with NH has been good… I am actually optimistic with him stepping into the role. Seems like a win for Finance for to me.

For the last 6 months, I've seen so many people getting fired and all very senior management too. Like just boss is not fired. 3 people above them got fired. And the whole team is now getting renamed and all that. The new people even don't know the product and capabilities.
Some people were really great leaders and they were like in BNY for 18 years and so.
I don't think they're firing people in lower level but feeling nervous.

"If your company isn’t keeping up with AI, let me give you the real reason:
You don’t have enough Jacks

You know exactly who “Jack” is:
the builder, the doer, the one who actually ships things while everyone else schedules another meeting to “align.”

But instead of hiring more Jacks, most companies do the opposite:

➡️ They create an “AI Center of Excellence.”
➡️ They hire a “Head of AI Strategy.”
➡️ They add two layers of managers… before writing a single line of code.

And then they wonder why innovation is slower than a Windows XP update….

The truth is simple:

Too much hierarchy ki-ls AI velocity.
Not because people are bad… but because every new manager means extra decks, extra approvals, extra reporting, extra politics and zero extra innovation.

If you have a team of strong senior builders, you don’t need ten managers.
You need to get out of their way and let them build.

This is why startups move at light speed
And enterprises move like they’re being pulled by a tired horse

If you want to win in AI, stop collecting titles…
and start collecting builders"

This could apply at FIS to AI, account management, cio, marketing, commercial management....
FIS keeps firing the builders and doers and adding more CEO minus two level chiefs, each of which then expand their empires and hiring, turf battles, demand more internal reporting....

For the last 6 months, I've seen so many people getting fired and all very senior management too. Like just boss is not fired. 3 people above them got fired. And the whole team is now getting renamed and all that. The new people even don't know the product and capabilities.
Some people were really great leaders and they were like in BNY for 18 years and so.
I don't think they're firing people in lower level but feeling nervous.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/technology/tech-news/att-ceo-john-stankey-says-made-mistake-when-told-employees-to-return-to-office-5-days-a-week-or-leave-but-the-message-was-not-wrong-instead/articleshow/125891727.cms

Heard big news are going to be delivered most likely at the townhall next week. Anyone knows what’s coming down the pipe? More layoffs? Leadership changes? Sell of parts of business?

We successfully became a single purpose hedge fund under his management.

I hate that now everyone is an “associate” or a “leader”. Show me one manager that’s a “leader”, in my group and I’ll have a heart attack. Classifying everyone as manager and peasant is very blue collar of the firm.

Contrary to popular belief, the layoffs did not start with the Sprint Merger, Covid, or change in leadership from John Leger to Mike Sievert. Instead, the demise of T-Mobile and subsequent layoffs started with the exedous of one employee. That employee was so regarded by Legere, Sievert, and the fellow C-Suite, that when DT came to town, they deferred to "them". All of the UC ideas, "them". Home Internet, "them". T-Mobile Tuesdays, "them" - the list is so long, say it with me, "them". That person is long gone - but the shell of "their" company - survives today. It is because of "them",
not Legere, not Sievert, not any of the active leadership, why any of us even have a job still - as without "them", we would have been bought my Marcelo in 2021, not vice-versa. To think we laid this MF off instead of promoting them to CEO....

In a world of ‘tough as nails’ innovators, it’s difficult to be inspired by Grampa Stankeylegg to run your organization like you own it when he refuses to own his own mistakes. And who says “air cover” when referring to leadership and culture. Try setting realistic, simple priorities out of the gate on Jan 1 that reflect what a 150-year old utility company should focus on - product delivery and product quality. Fire 99% of L3 and above, they are just there for “air cover” to keep the board from finding out the company is just a hollow shell compared to its former greatness.

Ah yes, I remember all those times Bob Bakish had his father come to business dinners to talk about mergers, or had him hop on Zoom calls with advisors. It's totally a normal thing for CEOs to have their daddies help them with their jobs.

From THR (link below):

“If we have the privilege to work together you will see that my father and I are the people you had dinner with,” Ellison wrote. “We are always loyal and honorable to our partners and hope we have the opportunity to prove that to you. Best, David”.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/inside-paramount-bid-warner-bros-discovery-david-ellison-1236445012/

No one at the rank and file level even seems to be aware of the cliff approaching in January. They just keep scurrying around like rats while the ship sinks. Amazing dissonance going on. 😂

After 10 years with UHC I finally called it quits over a month ago. It's been the most relieving feeling I have ever felt, seriously no lie! The constant changes, being chastised by a big headed manager who did not take accountability for her own faults, and exceeding expectations on MAP review but never reaping the benefits from it. The job that I am at now I make 1.20 less an hour but still make more, make it make sense...where was all my money going. Also my health insurance is so much cheaper and better, I never understood that? Run don't walk if you can, find something that works better for you and your family and also better for you financially.

What was the point of the meetings today? Nothing new shared. SVP one for downstream had a Q&A for entertainment.

What were some of your favourite quotes? "A Canadian company by and for Canadians" is surely top 3 of the day

Someone posted: It had better be a damn good plan that gets unveiled soon.

Based on what he has shown = nothing - is just a CONCEPT of a plan

I joined during Hans' tenure, so that's all I know. But there must have been some good ones, right?

Dan Schulman's headcount cuts at PayPal, primarily in 2023 (around 2,000 employees) and 2024 (another 9% of workforce), were a strategic move for operational efficiency and cost reduction in a tough market, saving significant annual costs (estimated $260M+), but whether they fully "helped" is mixed, as the company continued restructuring and facing competition, with Schulman moving to Verizon.shortly after, indicating ongoing challenges in the sector.

Why the Cuts Happened:
Economic Headwinds: Fears of a global slowdown and inflation pressured tech companies, requiring adaptation.

Strategic Pivot: The cuts aimed to streamline operations, increase efficiency, and better compete with agile fintech rivals.

Cost Management: A major goal was to reduce expenses, with projected savings of hundreds of millions annually from the job cuts.
Impact & Outcome:

Short-Term Savings: The layoffs immediately reduced employee-related costs, with estimates suggesting significant annual savings.
Strategic Modernization: The restructuring aimed to modernize PayPal's platform, simplify processes, and improve scalability, but it was an ongoing effort.
Leadership Transition: Schulman stepped down as CEO in late 2023, leaving the company to continue adapting under new leadership, while he took on the CEO role at Verizon in 2025, implementing similar efficiency drives.
In essence, the cuts were a necessary cost-cutting measure to improve efficiency, but they reflect a broader industry shift, and their ultimate success is part of a longer-term story of PayPal's evolving market position.

Jan 30, 2023 — PayPal CEO Dan Schulman announced that the company is cutting 2,000 employees, or about 7% of its workforce.

Payments Dive
PayPal to cut 9% of workforce to bolster efficiency - Payments Dive
Jan 29, 2024 — PayPal to cut 9% of workforce to bolster efficiency

I used to enjoy working here, but that faded over a decade of slow decline. None of this happened suddenly like some people like to claim. It was a long and steady erosion from one bad decision after another. I miss the Dell that used to feel like a real community.

I will deeply miss Run With Hans, but I am grateful we have something else to look forward to with Dan being a coffee aficionado. Coffee With Dan! It was so cool seeing him stand on stage with his cup of joe and talking about coffee. It really helped me cope with the layoffs and took my mind off losing 400,000 customers this year. With our Billion dollar Formula 1 contract, I hope he gets all of the executives to attend F1 in Brazil in November. I bet he can have some great coffee while he is there.

Let's go V Teamers!!