What employees say about working for the 10 best-rated CEOs

The juiciest quotes from Glassdoor's CEO surveys

Google CEO Sundar Pichai delivers his keynote address during the Google I/O 2016 developers conference in Mountain View, California May 18, 2016. REUTERS/Stephen Lam·Yahoo Finance· (REUTERS)

Glassdoor, which collects employee feedback on everything from office perks to corporate culture, has released its annual report on the best-rated CEOs in the country.

The site solicits anonymous, honest feedback from workers in order to give you the good, the bad, and the ugly about these executives. Here are the top 10 most beloved CEOs and some of the most colorful quotes about their companies, straight from the employees.

1. Bob Becheck, Bain & Company

5,700 employees

$2.2 billion in revenue

Becheck’s approval rating: 99%

Pro:

“You are empowered and accountable but you are not alone. And the best part is you can't fail. Because after all, what all those people are reinforcing is that a Bainie never lets another Bainie fail.”

Con:

“BEWARE OF OFFICE OR DEPARTMENT POLITICS! There is a lot of it here that hampers personal growth and achievement.”

2. Scott Scherr, Ultimate Software (ULTI)

2,354 employees

$5.6 billion revenue

Scherr’s approval rating: 99%

Pros:

“Scott Scherr created a culture where Ultimate wraps its arms around not only his employees, but the employee's entire family."

Cons:

“Company is growing extremely fast and unfortunately there are some bad apples that are coming in and not being identified and let go.”

3. Dominic Barton, McKinsey & Company (MTRX)

17,000 employees

$8.3 billion in revenue

Barton’s Approval Rating: 99%

Pros:

"Smart people - you will work with the brightest minds from an eclectic set of backgrounds."

Cons:

"Long hours 60-80/week typically and lots of travel if you consider that a con (away a lot but you travel very comfortably)."

4. Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook (FB)

12,691 employees

$18 billion in revenue*

Zuckerberg’s Approval Rating: 97%

Pros:

“It might be easy to roll your eyes when people from Facebook say how open their culture is, but it's true; it's more open than any other place I've worked at.”

Cons:

It feels like a cult for young, single people. Mature professionals with families need not apply. If you do manage to join, be prepared to be surrounded by rah rah rah, lots of brown nosing, politics, eating, drinking, and going to the gym with your co-workers is almost required if you want to get ahead here."

5. Jeff Weiner, LinkedIn (LNKD)

9,372 employees

$3 billion in revenue*

Weiner’s Approval Rating: 97%

Pros:

“I love the management philosophy of Leadership, Leverage, Results. Early on in every position, the employee is asked "what is your next play." The company is always looking to determine your next role and opportunity.”

Cons:

“LinkedIn hires on pedigree and age. Most managers are under 30, directors are under 40, and anyone over 40 is a rarity. Important positions will be staffed based on the university the employee graduated from, rather than work experience.”

6. Marc Benioff, Salesforce (CRM)

19,000 employees

$6.6 billion in revenue*

Benioff’s Approval Rating: 97%

Pros:

“Amazing people, amazing leaders, amazing perks, philanthropy model is one of a kind and the ultimate reason I stay, great place to work - I like getting up every day and going to the office even though it is constantly busy and stressful”

Cons:

“The reason Salesforce always seems on top, and chasing the latest trend, and in the press, is because employees are expected to run harder, carry more, cheer loudly, and pivot constantly. It's the world's biggest startup in behavior.”

7. Sundar Pichai, Google (GOOG)

53,000 employees

$74 billion in revenue*

Pichai’s Approval Rating: 96%

Pros:

“Google has everything that an employee would expect… Bicycles and electric cars to get staff to meetings, gaming centers, organic gardens and eco-friendly furnishings. Google wants to make its employees' lives easier.”

Cons:

“This place is optimized to avoid false positives in every step and false negatives are inevitable. At least when you get promoted, you can feel good that you have truly done something.”

8. Tim Cook, Apple (APPL)

110,000 employees

$233 billion in revenue*

Cook’s Approval Rating: 96%

Pros:

“Managers who actually care and make decisions based on the smartest possible direction (instead of just running on emotion or what their gut tells them) are refreshing to work under.”

Cons:

“Extremely fast-paced, high demand, especially if in the retail stores. Sometimes foggy direction from corporate regarding new initiatives and lack of opportunities to keep veteran employees engaged.”

9. Joseph R. Sivewright, Nestlé Purina PetCare, part iof Nestlé Purina (NESN.VX)

335,000 employees

$235.7 billion in revenue

Sivewright’s Approval Rating: 96%

Pros:

“A track record of innovation and success, thanks to great leadership and amazing people! The culture is based in part on a sense of confidence that, as a team, we can continue to win in the marketplace and see ongoing success in contributing to global Nestlé's business growth and results.”

Cons:

“We have so many people who have stayed with the company for so long that sometimes growth is slow. If you're patient, it will pay off, but it can take longer to get promoted than at other companies.”

10. Jim Whitehurst, Red Hat (RHT)

8,800 employees

$2 billion in revenue*

Whitehurst’s Approval Rating: 96%

Pros:

“This company knows how to balance freedom and accountability. Meritocracy is rewarded, and failure is not punished. This is the healthiest work environment I have ever been in.”

Cons:

“Red Hat has become less of a tech company and more of a sales company. Unfortunately that means leadership sometimes takes the technical people in directions that they lack understanding of.”

 

* An earlier version of this story had incorrect revenue figures.

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Minyoung Park is a reporting intern at Yahoo Finance.

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