Death of an Old Friend - Avis employé Employé (anonyme) Point B

Fantastic culture and a close knit relationship within the entire Phoenix geo. Amazing Finance leadership that will show you the rope

Lower pay and bonus compared to the industry but that is to be expected as consulting industry was shrinking back then. C-Suite also changed strategy & direction multiple times so it was chaotic for a good while

Point B used to be an exceptional firm. When I joined, it genuinely operated for the benefit of its people. The culture was strong, leadership was respected, employees felt invested (literally and figuratively), and the firm had deep, trusted relationships with longtime clients. Many smart, capable people built real careers here, and that version of Point B was something special.

Everything changed after the private equity acquisition - and not for the better. What followed was a textbook fumbled transition. New leadership was brought in, cost-cutting became the primary strategy, and the firm gradually abandoned the very things that made it successful. There were repeated rounds of layoffs, constant instability, and a steady erosion of benefits and trust. The employee ownership model was effectively dismantled, culminating in the termination of the ESOP at an abysmal price that left many employee-shareholders feeling burned. In the process, leadership managed to lose longtime clients and loyal employees. Relationships that had taken years to build were damaged or lost. Morale cratered. The culture hollowed out. What once felt like a people-first consulting firm began to feel like an asset being managed down. This wasn’t bad luck or market conditions alone — it was the predictable outcome of applying the standard private equity playbook to a people-driven business. Slash costs, swap leadership, extract value, and deal with the fallout later. The result is a company that is now a shell of its former self.