OpenTable

The core product is historically strong and remains genuinely fun to work on.

Hostile C-Suite: A sharp culture shift under CEO Debby Soo caused a mass exodus of top talent. When confronted about the turnover at an All-Hands meeting, her response was a profanity-laced dismissal of the departing staff.

The Executive Clique: The CEO filled leadership gaps by hiring her personal friends. The upper ranks now function as an unprofessional, insular echo chamber where personal loyalty trumps competence.

Retaliatory Tech Leadership: Under CTO Sagar, managers are empowered to push out anyone who doesn't blindly agree with them. Dissenting opinions on product direction or minor mistakes are met with outright firing or being quietly placed in dead-end, undesirable roles until you quit.

Nearshoring Over Retention: Rather than fixing the toxic environment, the company is using the high turnover as a cost-saving measure. Experienced staff who leave or are forced out are systematically replaced by lower-cost labor in Mexico and Canada.

Stagnant Compensation: In 2026, a staggering 70% of the company did not receive raises, further signaling leadership's complete disregard for employee retention, morale, and fair compensation.

Stop "leveling up" your executive hires.

A company of OpenTable's size and market presence has no business appointing a CEO and CTO who lack prior experience in these specific roles.

Reevaluate how you build leadership teams and start listening to the employees who actually build the product.

Stop treating high turnover as an acceptable cost-saving measure, address the deeply vindictive management culture, and rebuild trust before you lose the remainder of your capable staff.