What is th...

Question

What is the culture like under Rey vs Larry - any material difference or more of the same...

Current Employee · Accepted Answer

They weren't the same role.

Rey is Chief Customer Officer, he replaced Roger Scott. The Sales engineering org rolls up to him, but sellers do not. Too early to indicate if he'll add any value. Considering that he fits the mold/pedigree of other execs, my guess is that he'll be more of the exact same. Hans is really the guy that makes an impact, and he is phenomenal. I would for sure go to work for him.

Larry was CRO, accountable to the number and lead the sales org. Super nice guy. From a culture perspective, allowed Confluent to follow the path that all the other software orgs did and massively overhired which leads to small territories and by comparison massive quotas. Hiring him was an incredibly smart move for Erica, as it drastically reduced her accountability. My understanding is that we won't be backfilling his role, and Erica will now own the global number. Culture has not changed since Larrys departure.

Culture seems to be set by the theater leaders much more so.

Current Employee · Answer

Larry was the wrong CRO for the company, and Rey is the wrong CCO as well. The culture is the same in that the profile of leadership hired is that of corporate line toeing, rather than challenge and inspiration. 
Great macro proposition. Only good in the micro if lucky with accounts (outside US).

Current Employee · Answer

Echoing the other reply to this question, Rey is the CCO and leads CSG (SE, Success, Services, & Support). For the rank-and-file, there has been little change in culture for almost 3 years, as it seems to mostly be passed down by Erica and the theatre leads. The culture of the org overall is mildly dystopian: very few low-ranking people are openly and vocally happy, but the leaders always have smiles on their faces in an apparent effort to convince us that life at Confluent really is quite good. On the whole, if you can find a team with a manager who will firewall you from all of that BS, you'll have a great time. If not, then good luck!

Current Employee · Answer

I only worked for a few months under Larry before he left, but in those months he had no impact on me. The culture is driven from the theatre leader and like others have said, your direct Manager will have the most impact. Mine does a very good job of keeping most of the BS at bay. I am glad I joined when I did, and depending on the manager and territory, I'd recommend Confluent to anyone. The drive to profitability has certainly put a lot of eyes on metrics and costs  - this is always irritating and annoying because it feels like Metrics for metric's sake. Hopefully as the economy comes back the pendulum will swing back some again.

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Anonymous Q&A

What is the culture like under Rey vs Larry - any material difference or more of the same...