ION Group reviews

Pre-Ion takeover I worked for a successful, largely well run, innovative software business with a great team and some great clients. There was plenty of scope to grow organically in a rapidly expanding market. More specifically it was an excellent company to work for with senior management who were smart, communicative, and who at least gave the pretension of caring about their staff. Unfortunately the VCs and other investors got bored, impatient, greedy and subsequently sold out to Andrea Pignataro (AP) not giving a hoot as to the true potential and long-term returns available. Needless to say it didn’t take very long for just about everyone to realise that AP had absolutely no interest or understanding in the acquisition other than to completely bleed the heart out of the business and take as much money out of it as is possible. During my short time at Ion I saw entire teams of very skilled and experienced professionals quit with not so much as an iota of concern or care being shown by Ion. You will notice a similar pattern in most businesses acquired by Ion There is a distinct lack of transparency at Ion and senior management show complete contempt for employees, clients, prospects a-like. Its not personal thing at least - they are genuinely nasty. This a business with absolutely no long term future and whose value diminishes every day. Get out whilst you can and forget any company pension scheme you might have been saving up in – the reality is that AP has probably already pilfered it. Above all remember Ion doesn't care !!!

A quick snapshot of how ION operates: their most recent layoff occurred via email on a major holiday. It appears ION functions essentially as a mergers/acquisitions chop shop- the business model is to swoop in, acquire and reduce headcount by 1/3 - little more is produced aside from balance sheets, excel and powerpoint presentations and endless meetings. The end result is a Frankenstein’s monster. The recent ‘positive’ reviews on glassdoor seem coerced to offset previous bad reviews (also see Ion Trading/Ion Technology) Management is almost exclusively white, male, heteronormative that does little actual ‘work’- everything is smoke and mirrors; those who play the game remain to delegate rather than manage using over worked underpaid subordinates - women and marginalized folks are relegated to back office roles, referred to as ’girls’ and treated like pack-mule secretaries of another era. For those even remotely considering to join ION do so at your own peril knowing your days are numbered and you are nothing more than a number on a spread sheet in the finance department in Dublin. That is how ‘management’ values human beings. It is a culture formed and ruled by fear alternating with torpor- new hires are sub par because they are the only ones willing to accept below market pay and abysmal benefits; the business turns on a cycle of rotating grad hires who are built up to be star work horses when in reality ION was their third or forth choice as they couldn’t make the cut at first tier finance companies. Worst employment experience in my entire professional career. They win that hands down.