Company Went Downhill Fast (Culture, Nepotism and Irrational Leadership) - Marketing Navan Employee Review

2.0
Feb 14, 2024
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

- Free Lunch (For the time being) - Good teammates (ones that are left) and close bonds due to trauma bonding - Nice office with onsite barista (For Now) - Strong product that is actually good and competitive. - Pay was decently competitive, but I joined while the company had a decent cash flow

Cons

- Bad culture, cut throat and fear based management (What Management?). It feels like high school again but replace the football jockeys with C-Suite. The constant drama made me felt like I was living in a soap opera. - Nepotism claims from other reviews are real. CEO hires his close buddies to run growth marketing into the ground. No problem! Let's employ someone with a blind-leading-the-blind-let's-wing it-fake-it-till-you-make-it strategy. It certainly helps if you are part of the CEO's golden umbrella and you can do no wrong. CEO decided to lay off real talents in the USA just so that he can hire equally expensive (maybe more) but clueless replacements that have little to no relevant job experiences in Tel Viv? Sure! - Irrational leadership (Let that sink in) "Pun Intended"... The CEO wants to grow up to be just like Elon, but lacks the IQ/EQ and rational decision making logic. Elon cofounded/own 6 companies successfully, but our CEO managed to run one great company into the ground within a 24 month period. The company started to go downhill when the pointless rebrand happened and he "Got Rid" of the CMO with a proven track record of bringing companies to IPO. The CEO thinks that he can do a better job running Marketing than the ex-CMO with years of practical/battle tested experience. TripActions was a well known brand with intrinsic value that suggested fun and excitement related to travel. After spending millions of dollars and countless employee hours on the rebrand to satisfy the CEO's personal EGO. The brand Navan is now less known and we certain lost brand value with such a blah name that no one remembers. Then the company have to spent millions on top of previous spent advertising the new brand to justify to the press as to why this was a good decision... Those millions of dollars are opportunity costs that we could have invested in people, technology and most importantly solving internal issues. - Company morale has never been lower. I have never heard so many co-workers wanting (Wishing) to get laid off just go get out of this dumpster fire. We have gone though several C-level executives departure (usually are the ones that speaks the truth against the CEO's will). After reading this, if you still want to give this company a shot? Go for it. I wish you the best, and I hope you are the chosen one who will bring the necessary changes to this company and make it successful. (For all of our sakes)

Explore other reviews about Navan

5.0
May 28, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Lots of opportunity for advancement, pay compensation, mentor opportunities, great work environment, diversity and equality.

Cons

notice of sick time usage for it to count as Excused Absence, the ability to trade shifts as all U.S. based workers work Monday thru Friday with the earliest shist starting at 8 am and the latest starting at 12 pm CST

5.0
May 27, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Fast paced, plenty of room and opportunity to grow. Very good starting pay and ability to earn bonuses. Many remote work options. Strong culture and supportive leadership, with fun company events (like the Christmas party) that help people feel connected, even for the many remote employees.

Cons

The pre‑hire assessment is very strict and pass/fail. I’ve referred strong, experienced candidates who I know are good workers, but they did not pass the test and were not given the opportunity to move forward. It feels like the process may screen out some high‑potential talent who could otherwise thrive here.

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