#leadership

Welcome to the new FactSet to ring in the new fiscal year. Demolishing the company culture and we all just have to be grateful to not get laid off. This guy has been here for less than six months lol

The current union has little to no presence on the floor. There are lots of new employees, yes some of them are lost causes and that’s the narrative more experienced members will run with. Regardless, a lot of new people are not associated or familiar with our union and unfortunately won’t be till radio silence is broken for either a big election or contract. There was no communication last contract until they were looking for us to amend what they presented. A little packet, two excel sheets, vote on that, and no you can’t have anymore details and the FULL contract is confidential.

I would really like some outreach from the union to the floor outside of union meetings, in this day and age there should be other avenues of communications.

If there is no change from the elected union officials then their time in their cushy jobs will be short lived. Though they are not allowed to campaign on company time, I am allowed to make sure they don’t get elected on company time.

So yeah, course correction anyone?

im not paying these people anymore. cancelled. leaders are held accountable for results. they are getting fired.

This is apparently my next “article,” because someone needs to do it. The starting point is Centene’s announcement of Bradley Bolivar as its new CIO.

For those who slept through history class, Simón Bolívar was “El Libertador,” the guy who helped lead multiple South American countries to independence from Spanish rule and had a habit of overthrowing the existing order. And now the new CIO is Bradley Bolivar, not Simón, and as far as I know they’re not related. But given what Bradley is walking into at Centene, the name is almost too good. So I’m calling my completely unlicensed prediction of what happens next The Bolivar Revolution.

I went digging because executive press releases tell you approximately nothing. Bolivar comes from Fannie Mae with a legitimately serious résumé in cloud, architecture, data, AI, automation, security, and enterprise transformation. And unlike some executive bios where “AI” magically appeared around November 2022, this guy appears to have actually done some of this sh-t.

The timing is also hilarious. Bolivar isn’t the only senior person leaving Fannie Mae. They’ve been going through major workforce and leadership upheaval, including roughly 1,200 departures in 2025 (8200 in 2024, 7000 now) and another recent purge of senior officials. Some of the latest eliminations were even attributed partly to increasing AI capabilities. So naturally Bradley likely looked around at that widespread organizational hellfire and apparently thought, ”You know where I’d like to go next? Centene.” 😉
Source: https://finance.yahoo.com/real-estate/articles/trump-administration-dismisses-dozen-officials-194058657.html

Here’s my prediction. There are four ways this could go:

A: Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. Bolivar inherits Brian LeClaire’s organization, Susan Moon and DXE keep rolling, Accenture keeps collecting checks, “AI” gets stapled onto a few more PowerPoints, somebody invents six new acronyms, and eventually we declare the transformation transformed. (least likely)

B: The new sheriff starts asking questions. Why does this organization exist? Who owns this capability? Why is this outsourced? What exactly does this SOW produce? Where’s the data? How are we measuring value? And my personal favorite: why can’t Centene do this ourselves? Accenture probably isn’t going anywhere, but having to prove your value to the new CIO is a little different from being embedded by the old one, given this is basically the playbook they’ve used a few times before.

C: Fannie Mae South. This is the one to watch. Fannie is shedding experienced senior people at exactly the moment Bolivar takes over Centene technology. If one or two trusted Bolivar lieutenants suddenly change their LinkedIn employer to Centene, grab popcorn. Architecture, data, AI, engineering, security, and digital could start getting redrawn around his operating model rather than the one he inherited. As previously discussed by many, Moon and several others came from Brian LeClaire’s previous orbit. That’s how executive networks work. The interesting question is what happens when the new CIO shows up with a network of his own.

D: The plot twist. Bolivar eventually discovers that eliminating internal expertise, institutional knowledge, measurement, governance, and the annoying people who knew how all the pieces actually worked together wasn’t quite the efficiency play somebody thought it was. Centene quietly rebuilds the same connective tissue under exciting new names, adds three layers of management to it, and probably pays somebody $8-20 million to explain why it’s necessary.

My completely unlicensed crystal ball says B + C eventually produces D. Bolivar didn’t build his reputation maintaining somebody else’s org chart, and Sarah London didn’t say data, technology, and AI will “shape how we operate” because she wanted a caretaker CIO. The first real signal won’t be whatever shiny AI announcement comes next. Watch who follows him from Fannie, which boxes start moving at Centene, and which consulting SOWs suddenly have to explain why they exist.

There is at least one qualification we can probably remove from Bradley’s onboarding checklist: “Ability to navigate highly matrixed organizations.” The guy is leaving Fannie Mae amid leadership turnover, workforce reductions, political intervention, AI-driven job elimination, and general organizational hellfire, and walking directly into Centene.

He doesn’t need matrix training. He needs a helmet and directions to the bathroom.

Welcome to ”OneCenteam,” Bradley. You’ll be fine. 😂🍿

Was shocked to learn in some areas, the person running the layoff call was not from hr, but a Director forced to hold the call. Didn't even know who or how many laid off.

Can someone please tell me what these people do? Create decks that serve no purpose. Leaders are very bad.

Wow – Just saw a posting they are hiring yet another VP for the Shopify migration….Shopify is such a mess we had to roll back – how is yet another overpaid VP going to fix it….

How is the control on hiring, pay rate and promotions going to be handled? Is that control retained by MDs and Directors onshore? Curious as I came across shady hiring practices where pay was not in onshore leadership control, not even the role level. This might open a gap and vulnerability in the system where local leadership in GCC might favor the frenzy.

Genuinely curious as I know how much of a power politics Indian leadership in GCC can play if not cautious. If the few genuine leaders lose the leash, we might be a gone case (scared as I am indian and realize power play when I see one)

Any ideas why there's no coverage in the US? This seems like a giant event and this site is the top hit on Google? Leadership has been so incompetent and the one thing they get right is how to keep this from getting a Linkedin article?

Anyone else hear about the new RE-ORG to "support" EPG? Customer Service is always so garbage at Elavon, the only way itll get better is when QA and leadership actually keep the reps accountable- I know ppl that still have jobs in CS that straight up just hangup on customers (theyve full on told me thats what they do) have been working htere for years.

you guys hired one of the worst managers in your compliance teams to fill up the role in the compliance team . she was one of the worst managers I ever had plus zero understanding of the space. glad she was hired by frost. enjoy ruining your culture & program. soon it will be realized. I hope she hires the baby ducks left here.

Finally pulling the trigger on leaving this place. I had hoped for a long career here, but the writing is on the wall. Our leadership is clueless. This reorg is a let’s-bo-b-Iran level absolute disaster, with no way out. Upward mobility is totally gone (see the new internal hiring process yet? Yeeesh). ENGINE has already failed, yet no one has the spine to say it out loud.

I have no idea why anyone would stick around here, outside of execs with cush pretend gigs, unless you have no other options or are in abject denial. Good luck to you all. I promise it’s going to get worse.

Just remember that there is more accountability for a mid-level IC than there is for Enrique. He’ll fail and get a golden handshake deal while our colleagues are laid off and job hunting in the worst job market in our lifetime.

F PayPal “leadership”, F the board. They have ki-led what was once upon a time a fintech leader and they have ZERO vision to bring it back from the dead. I would have welcomed a Stripe acquisition even at that number. At least they have some kind of trajectory.

Sorry to all who have been affected. I hope we all find better gigs. Check on your friends.

So, why do so many ex-Humana executives and leaders now work for Centene? Seems fishy? Didn’t they have to sign an ND (non-Competitor Disclosure agreement) when they left?

I’m getting a lot of “my purpose“ recognition notifications from a bunch of executives I have never met and aren’t even in my hierarchy. Like I don’t report to them in any way shape or form. Almost like they are mistakingly recognizing me, when they mean to recognize somebody else. Has anyone else? I appreciate the effort, but considering how awful this company has been to work for the last two or three years it seems pretty disingenuous. The engagement survey starts next week, the new CEO starts today, etc. It just feels like a bunch of exacts are trying to cover their a-s.

Pay him whatever he asks, just get him onboard.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/general/business-has-lost-the-trust-of-a-generation-i-hear-about-it-at-my-dinner-table/ar-AA2bgHZp?ocid=BingNewsSerp

Pretty straightforward chronicle of how Stankey and his fellow RTOstans are creating the very Gen Z and Gen Alpha attitudes they constantly whine about. I sure as he-l know that I wouldn’t tell my kid to go for a corporate job after my experience in this world.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/technology/tech-news/oracle-layoffs-company-leadership-may-again-send-the-6-am-email-on-september-1-that-told-employees-we-have-made-the-decision-to/articleshow/133651829.cms

With this new wave of layoffs, are you seeing any evidence of a reduction of the number of management layers as mentioned by Enrique? Managers, Directors, etc...?

Positive the employee value proposition that will be rolled will only be favorable to the ones who decided what the change would be.

Japan Airlines was $25 billion in debt. Bankruptcy declared. 16,000 jobs on the line. CEO Haruka Nishimatsu didn't call a press conference.

He cut his own salary to $90,000 - less than his pilots. Canceled the executive dining room. Took the bus to work. No bodyguards. No reserved parking. No perks. While other CEOs drafted layoff lists from penthouse suites, Nishimatsu stood in the cafeteria line with ground crew. Workers noticed.

Morale shifted. In 3 years, Japan Airlines went

from the largest airline bankruptcy in history... to the most profitable airline in the world. It relisted on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 2012. That wasn't a turnaround plan. That was one man choosing accountability over comfort. Lesson: Most companies don't fail because of bad markets. They fail because leaders protect themselves first.

It's not miracle that saved Japanese airlines. It's the attitudes of leaders that saved. Hope ppl notices.

Goes to Enrique Lores

It’s honestly wild, good for them buddying up with M.L. from the start and getting in his ear on who to cut, that’s worked out well so far! (For them) ….But hey smart move by HR, they all get promoted and never laid off. I’m not saying they don’t provide value overall, but I find it odd/maybe the reason that they are the kingpins of this failing company…

I love this company. I came here from a completely different industry 5 years ago. I was drawn by the owner’s story in a Harvard Business Review article. I still think it’s a great company, on the balance. What I wish the leaders would understand is that AI is an amplifier. If you feed it noise (e.g. “bad” data, unclear business logic / rules), it will amplify chaos. If you feed it good stuff like a piece of beautifully crafted music (e.g. well designed process with “good” data and clear rules), it can turn it into concert. How do you get the “good” stuff? Through your SMEs, through SMEs working closely together, TRUSTING each other, by respectfully challenging each other. It’s hard work. There’s no switch, no buttons you can press. You won’t get there by trusting outsiders, trusting people who agree with you at all times, trusting copilot AI slop, that’s how organizations walk off a cliff. It’s the same old boring things. Cleaner diet, exercise, good habits that determine good health outcomes. Don’t be tempted by the weight loss pills (eg GLP1), because not only are you NOT going to get what you want sustainably. There are a TON of unknown side effects that you will pay a hefty price for. Excellent output requires excellent inputs and excellent process. Right now, the market is up, and we have tolerance for trying out GLP1. What happens when the market is down? Still, I love this firm and its people, and I focus on the little I have control over. There is hope yet

The SIU townhall, which was already reduced from monthly to quarterly, was just canceled today for the 8/31/2026 scheduled date. The last SIU town hall was in May and the next one is not until November. Sabrina continues to demonstrate that she refuses to face us and take accountability!!

new CIO starts today, was CIO at Fannie Mae

Seeing another Chief executive hire this week and more VP hires. Can someone explain the logic?

Very excellent engineers have been laid off……
Businessmen like Sassine only know about profits and keep reducing his holdings of the company's stocks at low levels, which shows that he has no intention of bringing the company towards normal profitability and only has his own interests in mind.
As a CEO, such a person will cause the company to collapse

The company is fundamentally misunderstanding what needs to happen to the structure of the organization - they are busy pushing out people who do things instead of people who manage things. It's the management layers that wont be needed in the future - they can be replaced by AI. The loss of knowledge and expertise provided by the doers will impact the corporation not the removal of management layers which are just there to polish KPIs and powerpoints. The top heavy organization will crash in on itself. It's time to cut the exec layers.

There is an old leadership principle: A leader's competence is measured by what they build, but their accountability is measured by what they ignore.

For nearly a decade at Centene, General Counsel Chris Koster has held primary responsibility for legal and regulatory oversight. Yet under his watch, the company has paid millions of dollars in state and federal settlements while the compliance infrastructure scrambled to contain the fallout.

To understand how a health plan incurs ten-figure regulatory penalties, one need only examine the appointment of Ashlee Knuckey as Chief Compliance Officer.

When Koster tapped Knuckey for the CCO seat, he elevated an individual directly from a law firm background, a litigator with no operational tenure in corporate compliance programs, no track record in managed care execution, and no prior experience as a Chief Compliance Officer.

What followed was four years of organizational turbulence disguised as a "compliance transformation."

Repeated internal escalations warned that the program lacked basic execution standards, structural clarity, and the foundational knowledge required to build an effective managed care compliance framework. These warnings were brushed aside. For four years, the enterprise operated in a state of compliance compromise, a persistent vulnerability that no amount of settlement checks can permanently ensure against.

Now, following Knuckey's exit, Koster has embarked on a series of "listening sessions" across the department. The timing invites obvious skepticism: where was he for the last four years?

Centene cannot pay its way out of fundamental governance failures indefinitely. Listening after the damage is done is not oversight, it is reputation management. If leadership failed to act on internal warnings when the compliance program was being dismantled, these listening tours are not a course correction. They are optics management.

Real protection requires leadership that understands what compliance actually entails on the ground. As Centene searches for a new Chief Compliance Officer, one directive must remain non-negotiable: do not hire another law firm attorney without operational compliance managed care experience. The next CCO must be a proven industry veteran who has successfully built and led compliance programs inside complex healthcare payers.

If Koster wants to demonstrate actual accountability now, he should step back from isolated decision-making and bring frontline Compliance team members directly into the interview process for the next CCO.

Otherwise, Sarah London needs to ask the hard question: after ten years and a billion dollars in regulatory costs, what, exactly, has Chris Koster been doing?!

September’s layoffs will be fu--ing brutal but don’t worry, Nike’s galaxy-brained leadership will graciously ‘support’ you all the way to the exit, then congratulate themselves for showing empathy.

One of the most toxic IT leaders recently departed. This is, in my view, a direct consequence of the weak CIO hired by the previous CFO shortly before her own departure. The CIO subsequently pushed out most of the organization’s senior IT talent, leaving the team disproportionately reliant on the remaining toxic leadership. I would not be surprised if the broader IT organization were to unravel by year-end.

Detroit Employment Solutions Corp. is implementing significant cost-cutting measures, including laying off a third of its staff, to address a substantial budget deficit. The agency's financial troubles stem partly from the expiration of COVID-19 recovery funds and accounting errors. Key leadership positions, including CEO and CFO, are also being replaced. Despite these internal challenges, the agency asserts that direct services to Detroiters seeking employment remain unaffected. Efforts are underway to secure funding for vital programs like Grow Detroit's Young Talent.

Detroit, Michigan

https://outliermedia.org/detroit-at-work-job-training-unemployment/

Whatever the reasons behind his departure, from where I sit Dallas was one of the few senior leaders who seemed to genuinely understand how sales at NetApp needs to function — how the field, partners, customers and internal teams actually need to work together to win.

At a time when the organisation already feels like it is going through constant change, losing someone with that level of commercial understanding raises even more questions about the direction we are heading in.

People keep talking about transformation, high achievement and driving results, but you also have to ask why experienced people who understand the business are leaving.

Who is actually listening to the people on the ground?

Anyone else seeing what’s happening in the UK?

Good people are leaving, particularly women, and others seem completely burnt out. Yet we still hear all the usual talk about diversity, inclusion and people being our biggest asset.

Since the leadership change, the culture feels completely different. There seems to be a leadership style being imposed that just doesn’t translate well to the UK market or the way teams here have historically operated.

More pressure, more workload, questionable appointments and everything coming back to the numbers. People can deliver what’s asked of them and still somehow be told they need to improve.

And it’s not just employees noticing the change. Some partners and customers are starting to see the disconnect too, which should be a much bigger concern for the business.

NetApp UK used to have a great reputation and culture. It’s sad watching that disappear.