I was hired out of college in 2019 as an Account Manager. It was a great job up until 2023 when the red tape and processes put in place made it too hard to sell solutions our customers were requesting. Imagine having a customer asking for something and not delivering when you’re a technology reseller? Bad look. So much bureaucracy and middle managers making 6 figures to slow processes down. All in the name of “risk aversion”. I’m excited to announce I’m selling all of my CDW stock and I’ve enjoyed the fact that i jumped ship while watching it burn and sink. My brothers and sisters still working there, you gotta save yourself they aren’t gonna save you!
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I worked for CDW for over 20 years. Always performed well. I ended up working for MD and he eventually let me go. He would go behind my back and meet with my direct reports, tell them their roles were changing (without speaking with me first), change direction / focus every other week, and constantly have us working on endless wild goose chases and PowerPoints. Zero consistent focus. Poor leader with no people leadership experience. Just a consultant that tricked us into thinking he knew something about strategy.
He also leads terribly. Ever talk to any of the people on his team? Great people... who can't stand working for him in his org.
Not sure what that guy even does besides present terribly.
Drory does not get it and will never get it. He tucks himself in a corner and enjoys spinning his wheels. What a complete bust of a hire that was. VP of Tragedy.
A lesson for CDW
Japan Airlines was $25 billion in debt.
Bankruptcy declared. 16,000 jobs on the line.
CEO Haruka Nishimatsu didn't call a press conference. He cut his own salary to $90,000 - less than his pilots. Canceled the executive dining room. Took the bus to work. No bodyguards. No reserved parking. No perks. While other CEOs drafted layoff lists from penthouse suites, Nishimatsu stood in the cafeteria line with ground crew.
Workers noticed. Morale shifted. In 3 years, Japan Airlines went from the largest airline bankruptcy in history... to the most profitable airline in the world. It relisted on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in
- That wasn't a turnaround plan. That was one man choosing accountability over comfort.
Lesson: Most companies don't fail because of bad markets. They fail because leaders protect themselves first
I It’s unfortunate how things have evolved. While bureaucracy has always existed, there was once enough flexibility and trust for capable people to make decisions and execute effectively.
Talent still matters—especially in foundational roles—but the most valuable contributors are often not the most visible. They’re the steady, thoughtful operators who build and sustain critical functions over time.
As organizations have shifted toward constant career progression—often through unclear or poorly aligned paths—performance and morale have declined. This trend predates layoffs and outsourcing, but has been amplified by them.
A related issue is the loss of institutional knowledge. Long-tenured employees who built key functions are frequently undervalued, and when they leave, organizations struggle to replicate their effectiveness. At a minimum, these groups were once given enough budget flexibility to retain such employees—often through modest, incremental raises that were small relative to the revenue they supported. Replacing them with larger teams and stronger resumes rarely solves for context, ownership, or continuity.
At the same time, companies no longer consistently reward long-term dedication, making frequent movement the rational choice. This reflects a broader shift across large organizations, not just any one company.
That shift is also happening at the macro level. As recently noted in Goldman Sachs analysis, economic growth is increasingly decoupling from labor, meaning companies can expand output without proportional investment in people. The incentives naturally follow.
The result is a system that prioritizes optics over substance, with consequences felt across customers, employees, and investors. The best we can all do if we choose to work at CDW or elsewhere is work diligently but do not define your life by the work. That’s really anyone can do.
CDW is basically a Jenga game. Too big and clunky, Top heavy and the blocks supporting the business have been removed one by one. It’s inevitable what will happen.
@c1 Could not agree more. There were so many from the prior leadership team that were let go to make room for “new thinking.”
That “old thinking” leadership team that knew our customers, knew our markets, knew the technology and our partners didn’t miss on quarterly earnings.
And that was because of the CDW culture many of us grew up with and taught new coworkers that it was all hands on deck to serve our customers, deliver for our partners and grow the business to ensure no one was laid off.
Some external hires are good and know how to adapt to CDW (Sanjay, Gerald). Some have been terrible and still don't get CDW years later (AR, MD).
We used to have amazing corporate athletes that could jump from Segment to Segment and even department to department. this also ensured people who knew sales were in every group. Mixing external hires with internal promotions / rising stars was great for us.
Only promoting in silos and only hiring senior leaders from the outside is what is ki-ling our culture.
Got out of there a few years back after over 15 years in sales. Best decision I could have made at the time and no regrets, especially after the last few years watching from the outside what has happened to the company. Culture is dead and not coming back. Seriously can’t believe the CEO is still employed there. 🙄
@OP
Glad to know others have the same thoughts.
Wish I sold my shares before but didnt want the taxes involved with selling...which was a d-mb move on my part since the amount the stock has dropped since January 1st would've covered any taxes I'd have if I sold at that point. 30% drop in a few months and nothing positive on the horizon to turn things around.
Sad.