An abusive company with a culture and business practices tainted by Autonomy - Marketing Executive Darktrace Employee Review

TW: self-harm Darktrace almost killed me. Literally. The verbal abuse, public disrespect, and cutthroat politics beat me to a pulp. Every day coming into work, I considered jumping in front of the train. I would take bathroom breaks to cry and scratch my arms. And I was lucky. I was a man, so I wasn’t subject to the ogling, groping, harassment, and sexual assault that my female colleagues were forced to deal with on a regular basis. This kind of culture doesn’t come from nowhere. In the case of Darktrace, it came from another company: Autonomy. Darktrace’s senior leadership, including the CEO, CMO, and CFO, were all ex-Autonomy. They brought with them a win-at-all-costs ethos that expected — and sometimes demanded — up to 14-hour work days. Minor mistakes were punished with public humiliation. Managers would do firings in public and would cc colleagues in verbally abusive emails. Darktrace's lead investors were also ex-Autonomy, and in many ways, they were the source of these practices. While they were ostensibly mere investors, one of the first things I learned in onboarding was that the CEO was a figurehead. The real power base was in these investors. Darktrace has tried to distance themselves from them, likely because many of them are facing (or have already been convicted of) conspiracy, wire fraud, and criminally over-inflating the value of Autonomy. I have no knowledge of whether or not they oversaw similar fraud at Darktrace. What I do know is that they directly oversaw the day-to-day operations of the business, even personally approving or denying individual expenses. Their influence over the company might have waned by now. Perhaps the culture has gotten better. I can only hope. Because if it’s even a fraction as bad as it used to be, Darktrace remains one of the most toxic workplaces imaginable. Either way, it cannot erase the fact that Darktrace has left me and many of my former colleagues with permanent scars. Literally.