Good benefits. Toxic management and culture. - Analyst Wood Mackenzie Employee Review

2.0
Apr 2, 2018
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Good salary, benefits, flextime, and vacation.

Cons

The majority of the cons of working at WoodMac stem from what can only be described as a toxic culture and very poor management. The majority of mid to lower level management have no business managing others. I can not tell you the number of times I had to beg for something to do that actually required brain power. Needless to say day to day life at WoodMac became boring very quickly. It seems like any constructive criticism of how to improve WoodMac's processes and products seems to fall on deaf ears. During my time at WoodMac I made several suggestions to upper level (head of research), mid level (directors), and lower level (managers) management. Every one of them brushed off my concerns and the problems went unaddressed. After a while I just stopped offering improvements since there didn't seem to be a point. You should note however that this is a common complaint at WoodMac. Read some of these other reviews. Management's concern in producing top notch products for clients seems to be waning. Sure they'll throw together a new software tool and try to market it to clients every now and then, but it often leaves much to be desired and room for improvement. As far as management is concerned as long as it sells they don't care about improving it. Lastly, there is a very high turn over rate and lack of opportunities to seriously grow your career. Look on LinkedIn. Most people are here for a year or two at most. Upper management is convinced this is because the industry is competitive. The reality is the smart people WoodMac hires quickly see the problems WoodMac has and how they don't seem to care about solutions. Can you blame them for wanting to leave asap?

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5.0
May 31, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
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Pros

Good work life balance and interesting work

Cons

Nothing much to say on this.

3.0
Feb 2, 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Good people with good intentions. Work-life balance is above average.

Cons

The reality of being owned by a PE backed firm: Large scale cost reductions including mass layoffs. Woefully lean teams requiring higher workloads including much time spent on tasks outside of primary role. New leadership- since the hiring of Jason Liu, it’s hard to discern if we can trust the GLT. Observations causing concern include blame shifting, lack of accountability, and statements inferring that radical candor is actually not welcome (despite devoting an entire training module on the topic). Directors and managers do not have any power, and yet they are our conduit to executive leadership. The work has no joy anymore. We spend our days putting out fires on internal data issues, chasing lofty goals with next to nothing budgets, and trying to keep up with the ever-changing policies and procedures that impact our day to day. I rarely get a chance these days to do the job I was hired for.

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Wood Mackenzie Response
4mo
Thank you for taking the time to share your perspective. Wood Mackenzie is undergoing a bold transformation as we sharpen our focus on delivering the most connected, trusted intelligence for the energy and natural resources industries. This has brought change across many parts of the organisation as we evolve how we work, how we operate, and how we support our customers. We recognise that periods of transformation can feel challenging and, at times, uncomfortable. At the same time, this work is central to our long-term ambition to transform the way we power our planet and to build a Wood Mackenzie for the future. We remain committed to creating an environment where people can do meaningful work, contribute to a bold mission, and feel proud of the role they play in what we are building together. If you haven't already done so, I'd recommend speaking about the issues you've raised through our internal feedback channels such as our your line manager or speak to your HRBP. All feedback on Glassdoor is summarised and shared with leadership monthly so I can guarantee the themes in your review will be aired. We appreciate your honesty and your dedication to Wood Mackenzie over the past decade. Even when the feedback is challenging, it helps us build a stronger company and a better experience for our people. Thank you again for sharing your perspective. Eilish Henson, EVP, HR
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