Michael Pietrack, Managing Director at Kaye/Bassman, Authored “The Most Dangerous Person In The Company,” Featured in BioSpace

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Michael Pietrack, Managing Director at Kaye/Bassman, Authored “The Most Dangerous Person In The Company,” Featured in BioSpace

Plano, TX | 6/30/2026

Michael Pietrack is a Managing Director at Kaye/Bassman International, an executive search and recruitment firm. Michael is a practice lead for Kaye/Bassman’s pharma and biotech recruiting team and host of “The Pharmaverse Podcast.” The following is an article published in BioSpace:

In this column, Kaye/Bassman’s Michael Pietrack discusses the problematic behaviors executives must watch for in the workplace..

As an executive recruiter, I’ve spent years interviewing leaders, teams and candidates across the biopharma industry. In my experience, one of the most common reasons great employees leave companies is because of people issues. While the individuals driving these employees away present differently, they share one important trait: They create organizational risk that rarely appears on a dashboard until the damage has already been done.

Recognizing the profiles of these individuals can help biopharma executives avoid the pain of joining a company that has these issues or allows them to identify if their current organization harbors these people.

The controlling CEO

Every startup needs a visionary CEO, and often that person is the founder of the company. These leaders often possess the courage, conviction and relentless work ethic required to build something from nothing. Those traits deserve admiration. The problem emerges when the company grows, but the leadership style doesn’t.

When the business is small, a CEO can have their hand in every decision, but as it scales, some of these brilliant leaders struggle with letting go and delegating. Every meeting funnels through one individual. Every expert hired to bring specialized knowledge finds themselves waiting for permission.

Eventually, talented leaders begin asking a dangerous question. “Why did you hire me if you’re going to make every decision yourself?” When decision-making slows, innovation stalls and strong executives leave. The organization becomes increasingly dependent on a single person.

Read more: https://www.biospace.com/career-advice/the-most-dangerous-person-in-the-company