Vivek Ramaswamy a 'paranoid leader', accused of treating employees like servants

Vivek Ramaswamy, a co-founder and former CEO of Roivant Sciences, has been accused of being a "neurotic, mercurial, and paranoid leader" by some former employees from his ventures, Roivant Sciences and Strive Asset Management, in private, according to a report in Business Insider.

According to the report, he treated his employees like servants. The report, which is based on interviews with former employees, alleges that Ramaswamy created a toxic work environment at Roivant, where employees were constantly under pressure and were expected to work long hours, including weekends.

The report also alleges that Ramaswamy would often berate and humiliate his employees and that he created a culture of fear and intimidation.

However, Vivek Ramaswamy's confident, charming, and assertive demeanour attracted him to voters during a recent Republican primary discussion in August. He presented himself as a meme-worthy entrepreneur who thrives on confrontation and isn't afraid to fight.

According to a former colleague, Ramaswamy's management style is nothing short of peculiar, veiled within an aura of entitlement. Witnesses report an unwavering expectation for his personnel to cater to his needs with white-glove excellence, making his every whim a priority. His set of non-conventional rules and often bizarre procedures are seen as attempts to have the staff work around his lifestyle

On his birthday, for example, he would order Taco Bell for the office, but he has also been known to demand white-glove care from his staff, with a laundry list of strange regulations and procedures to fulfill his every whim.

Vivek Ramaswamy's fixation on temperature control is a notable eccentricity. According to the report, he insisted that the office thermostats at Roivant and Strive be set to 64 degrees Fahrenheit or lower, making the workspaces uncomfortably cold. Co-workers reportedly resorted to using space heaters and wearing fleece sweaters to combat the chill.

Vivek Ramaswamy's demands for multiple backup flights and hotel rooms, having his assistant plate his takeout lunch and serve it with a napkin, and having cottage cheese served at his desk every morning are all examples of his obsessive need for control.

Notably, even before entering the presidential election, Ramaswamy had a former Army Ranger as a personal security guard. This security guard patrolled the Strive offices on a regular basis, looking for security hazards.

Colleagues and business partners admire Vivek Ramaswamy's zeal, intelligence, energy, and salesmanship. After graduating from Harvard, he worked for the hedge fund QVT while also attending Yale. Despite having little experience in medication research, he started Roivant at the age of 28.

Roivant employees view the company's climate as more analogous to a fast-paced software startup than a traditional pharmaceutical corporation. Ramaswamy's ability to raise funds drew the attention of investors such as SoftBank Vision Fund, Founders Fund, and Viking Global Investors.

Ramaswamy's entrepreneurial enterprises, including Roivant, have successfully brought various medications from development to market. Even when his projects failed, he reaped personal benefits.

While some regard Ramaswamy as a visionary leader, others see him as a hype man who uses charisma and eloquence to increase the worth of his businesses. Two former employees have filed complaints against him, charging him of breaking securities laws by utilising unapproved marketing materials and pitching investors on Strive's ETFs before it was authorised.

While Ramaswamy's presidential campaign continues, the opposing portrayals created by his public persona and former colleagues provide light on the complexity of his leadership style and character.

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