Pros
The company had been family-owned and operated for decades. During the pandemic, the owners brought in an “industry veteran” as President and CEO, with a clear goal in mind: sell the company to a private equity firm and exit the business. That goal was achieved when the company was sold to a U.S. PE firm in late 2023.
Cons
From the family business owners' perspective, things went exactly as planned—they sold the company to a U.S. private equity firm, got their payout, and retired. But for employees, what followed was disappointing and frustrating. The new “industry veteran” CEO made poor decisions when it came to hiring and promoting people. Several directors he brought in—later promoted to VPs—lacked the necessary skills and, in some cases, showed questionable behavior and potential conflicts of interest. It was clear that politics mattered more than performance. Under his leadership, the company went through multiple rounds of layoffs, and the total employee headcount dropped sharply. Meanwhile, those same underqualified managers kept moving up. The most confusing part? As the business shrank, job titles inflated. Fewer people were doing more work, while the wrong people got bigger titles and more power. It didn’t make sense—and it certainly didn’t help the company.