Pros
The firm's founders are truly inspirational, intelligent & one of the most intense you can find in the business.
Cons
- Political hotbed - Being the largest asset manager in the world = lot of over-confidence & ego. There is a lot of inertia opposing new ideas and ways of thinking. People are first encouraged to speak their minds and when they do they are disliked. - Politics and in-fighting in Indian operations in Gurgaon driven right from the "top". - Local management myopic - Culturally bureaucratic ....."Yes Ministers" tend to do well. Pockets of good talent but significant baggage of unproductive staff including some senior managers. - HR works like a factory and lacks neutrality and empathy towards staff (third-world). Attrition is only a matter of time and there are far better employers in the market. - Growth in headcount in Gurgaon = cleverly downsizing or planning to in the US (what say Mr Obama?) and other locations. - Fetish to poach from previous organizations to fill up roles quickly with an army of people that the managers had a comfort level working with - Org structure & expectations from managers are difficult to comprehend. - Too many cultures = confusion. - Lack of controls - people can just walk in and out with proprietary matter...this can prove to be dangerous. - Its an abyss in a deep wild forest out there and most importantly - nobody cares. Seen some of the best talent across all levels leave the firm with no real attempt to retain them. - Unless you are someone who thrives in a political environment and can co-exist peacefully with crocodiles and water snakes in a pond, would not recommend Blackrock India to anyone interested in a long term opportunity.