Pros
* In an acquisition growth phase which is always exciting - purchases of TSL, IHS Markit’s Life Sciences division etc are all high quality assets with great people and clear synergy potential. * Concept of developing deep-seated vertical capabilities held together by centralised thematic expertise through subscription plus consulting is a very interesting/strong business model.
Cons
* The company is not ready for the big time yet. It is in micromanagement hell which creates a dysfunctional, siloed culture where teams can wait breathlessly for an approval for a GBP4 expense from the CEO, who clearly does not trust his own leadership team and wades into any and all decisions across the board. Leadership is disempowered and walk around like lame ducks - stay well away from this organisation if you are looking to build leadership or managerial competencies as you will not be entrusted with any meaningful authority. Your experience will be ignored and/or unvalued, and your only role will be to communicate news up and down the organisation. * Silos exist in all companies, but this takes it to a new level - no transparency and seemingly no interest to create synergies or cooperation between groups, which is particularly awkward given the "one platform" philosophy. * The HR part of the organisation is very poor - massive delays in response time for basic support, very poor benefits/compensation structure, little/no interest in retaining key staff/leadership. Highly problematic as clearly very talented senior/mid-senior staff have no incentives to stay. * Problematic culture that does not actively promote diversity, gender balance or inclusion - there are new (about 20 years late!) employee resource groups that are designed to shift this but these are again disempowered, and seemingly no interest from leadership to take the issues seriously.
