Pros
Fast track career if ambitious, young, male, and internationally mobile Make a ton of money if you are top leader and on a long term incentive - bigger bonuses than Wall Street Super quick at making big decisions where other companies would dawdle and miss the opportunity Great brands and good investment in sales teams Super lean structures that somehow work High profit margins Highly involved board structure that supports culture and CEO
Cons
Crazy bonus structure drives crazy poor behavior Meritocracy is touted but it's really about politics and trying to look good in front of senior people If you are over 33 and not already in senior management, you're going no where - get out If you leave the company you will never be rehired at ABI Cannot challenge or question the culture - so it becomes more of a cult - with top management worshipping Brito Inexperienced people thrown into the deep end all the time. Usually this would be ok, but there are no experienced people to guide them, so it becomes a train wreck and increases chaos You need to be available to work 24/7 - the company always comes first.. Leaving a lot of broken marriages, fatherless children, etc behind. Most long-termers have only ABI friends The work gets pushed down the line and is always urgent but rarely critical or important- lots of last minute nice-to-haves which one cannot question or challenge. So you're missing your mother's 60th birthday for no good reason Management are institutionalized and do what they're told (see previous comments about worshipping Brito, not having connections outside work, highly leveraged bonuses). This makes it difficult to see the bigger picture, question the direction, or actually be an executive/ leader who thinks for themself and makes decisions. It would be a harsh reality to try and work elsewhere