Thread regarding SAS Institute layoffs

@1zj You continue to prove that you are bonkers.

Now stay out of it!

@1se Keep talking to the voices in your head; they are clearly the only ones impressed by you

"Don't try to make me look like the crazy one. "

On that score, you are doing very well on your own.

@1q2 "a bit sensitive?!"

Don't try to make me look like the crazy one. They were completely talking down to me, and the fact that you're jumping in to defend their behavior makes you just as bad as they are.

Now stay out of it!

@1pb Someone is a bit sensitive. They weren’t lecturing you at all.

@1nz Are you seriously trying to lecture me on what modern enterprise leadership looks like? Save the textbook corporate buzzwords.

No one is calling alliance management order-taking, but trying to pretend it's harder or more critical than holding a direct quota is pure delusion. Direct territory reps are the ones actually putting their necks on the line with hard numbers every single quarter, while ecosystem managers hide behind the shield of cross-company alignment and multi-million-dollar hypotheticals. Negotiating incentives is part of basic business, not some elite commercial strategy only a select few understand.

It's time to stop hiding behind the complexity narrative and acknowledge who actually brings in the revenue when the pressure is on.

@1nm That’s a bit too rigid for how modern enterprise leadership actually moves. Managing alliances and partner ecosystems at scale isn’t order-taking; it requires a heavy commercial strategy, negotiating complex cross-company incentives, and driving multi-million-dollar co-sell motions that are often harder to align than a standard direct territory.

@1j0 Spot on. There's a massive difference between holding a direct revenue quota and managing alliances where partners come to you. The job-hopping after Microsoft is definitely a yellow flag that aligns with your Groucho Marx analogy; highly effective sales leaders usually stay put when they are printing money. I agree we should look for someone with more direct, grit-required enterprise revenue experience.

@1me- It's a made up throwaway line, for entertainment purposes only.

@1gj I have an idea of who you are talking about, but without violating the websites policy about naming anyone specific, can you give a clue? Perhaps give hints similar to how other people have been described previously such as the forester or the photographer.

Good points. I wouldn't go so far as to say he has world class cloud scaling experience. He obviously has some experience there, but leading partner ecosystems inside dominant hyperscalers versus driving core enterprise revenue at an legacy software firm undergoing modernization is very different. There's a big difference between working with dominant companies with partners and alliances coming to you vs being responsible for the core enterprise revenue quota. The long term at MS and the relatively quick hopping at the other companies indicates some issues beyond resounding success.

Recalling Groucho Marx's quip about refusing to join any club that would have me as a member, I don't know why an effective candidate would leave a (very) lucrative company, presumably with loads of stock options and compensation for SAS...granted money doesn't motivate everyone, but you probably want sales driven by it.

While the appointment of Casey McGee as Chief Sales Officer at SAS is generally seen as a strategic move to fix the company's enterprise go-to-market gaps, an analysis of the hire reveals several potential disadvantages and strategic risks.

1. Corporate culture friction is a persistent challenge for legacy software companies. McGee spent the vast majority of his career (over 21 years) at Microsoft and recently served at Google—tech giants known for rapid, cloud-native deployments and deeply collaborative, partner-heavy tech ecosystems. SAS, historically, has a highly distinct, paternalistic, and long-standing corporate culture heavily tied to its Cary, NC roots. As noted by internal employees on platforms like TheLayoff, SAS has historically struggled to integrate outside executives whose aggressive, hyper-scaled tech strategies often run counter to traditional SAS workflows, sometimes leading to friction and turnover.

2. While McGee brings world-class expertise in cloud scaling and driving partner-led revenue ecosystems, some internal critics point out that an executive-level sales hire cannot solve underlying product hurdles. There is a risk that his aggressive go-to-market execution strategy will outpace the speed at which SAS’s core data analytics and R&D divisions can scale or modify their legacy software platforms for the modern, open-source AI era.

3. Before joining Google and subsequently SAS, McGee took on the role of Chief Revenue Officer at Lytx in mid-2023. His departures from Lytx and Google Cloud occurred relatively quickly, moving through multiple high-level positions in a span of less than three years. While this demonstrates high demand for his skillset, a potential risk for SAS is lack of long-term executive continuity—especially given that he is replacing Riad Gydien, a 20-year veteran who provided decades of stability to the global sales organization.

4. At Microsoft and Google, McGee’s primary focus was navigating massive partner networks, Global ISVs (Independent Software Vendors), and digital natives. SAS relies heavily on a specialized, deeply technical, direct-to-enterprise customer model built around proprietary data workflows. Importing a standard "Big Tech" partner playbook could risk alienating long-standing enterprise clients who prefer highly customized, direct support from SAS engineering teams rather than third-party cloud-native aggregators.

Daddy, can I have a department?
I'll run it real good.
Please?!?!?!

@1dr Yes, and at this one, more people leave than join.

@1a1 Every company does things their own way. Some fail some succeed.
But people leave at every single one of them.

@cb we are our own worst enemy. We keep doing things the "SAS way" and continue to wonder why good people leave.

Many of us loved SAS. But after you've been badly treated by a few managers, and seen your friends treated worse, you lose your love.

Further, SAS management stifled innovation. That isn't coming from cynicism, or pessimism, but lived experience; and in a technical market, if you don't innovate, you don't deserve to succeed.

SAS had a long, long run -- more than 50 years. Few companies, let alone tech companies, can claim such success. Celebrate what was, but don't expect more.

@10p Don’t expect them to make sense…

@t1 Why not?

By the same token why would all you people that haven’t been layed off by SAS?
Now if it was www.ihatesas.com you “might” have a point.

I don’t know anyone on this site would be here if they “love SAS”. It is called “thelayoff.com” 😉

@pb Nice post Casey.

@pb why support needed most now?

I ask those of you who love SAS, to resist the urge to criticize our company. The support you give now, when it is needed most, may well determine the outcome for the rest of the decade.

Let's rally around Casey as only SAS can do. Let's refuse to give in to cynicism and pessimism.

@hj

He won't be allowed to do any of that. What optimism you have. I almost admire it, but I know too much about how SAS managers actually do. I don't blame you for clinging to hope, though. To thine own self be true, brother.

Yes, his background suggests he can help optimize our global commercial strategy and bridge critical gaps in our go-to-market playbook, specifically around cloud-native scaling and partner ecosystems.

An R&D problem does not have a Sales solution.

That poor guy is neither the problem nor the solution

He'll spend a handful of well-paid years here and accomplish nothing.

As long as he doesn't deviate from Jim's plan, he will do fine.

We have a history of bringing in senior executives from other companies who fail to “improve” the company. Largely, their experience runs counter to SAS culture and they ultimately leave in frustration. Not sure if Casey will be the exception to what has been the rule.