Mike McAvoy is a straight up bully - Anonymous employee UCB Theater Employee Review

1.0
1 Mar 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Talented, creative staff and performers

Cons

Leadership style from Mike McAvoy creates a culture of fear and instability. He micromanages and has no clear direction for ucb. Expectations frequently shifted which made it difficult for teams to operate effectively. If you couldn't keep up, he would scream at you. He was demeaning towards staff. People were/are AFRAID of him. Employees were belittled and blamed for his shortcomings as a leader. I witnessed colleagues leave meetings visibly upset and saw countless people cry because of how he treated them. There needs to be an internal investigation into what he is doing to his current staff. People feared retaliation constantly. He speaks negatively about staff to other staff creating a toxic work culture. It's highly unprofessional and unethical behavior especially coming from a CEO..

Explore other reviews about UCB Theater

5.0
27 Mar 2023
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Entertaining the masses and producing top notch comedy.

Cons

New owners who are inexperienced in the world of theatre.

4
1.0
29 Mar 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

The talent, the people, the community

Cons

The CEO, Mike McAvoy. He lets his employees flounder and expects them to read his mind instead of providing actual leadership. Rather than offering guidance, he talks about employees to others, turning the theater into his own personal Hunger Games where everyone is forced to fight for survival. He’s driven away countless overqualified leaders because his fragile ego can’t handle strong Women with clear points of view who are smarter than him. He's a terrible CEO and doesn't provide facts. Instead, he talks in riddles and expects you to understand what he wants. He ignores good ideas, overworks people, and tries to pay them as little as possible for their labor and creativity—while contributing none of his own. His decisions are consistently terrible, and his loyalty extends only to money and power. The environment he’s created is one of fear, chaos, and exhaustion. I feel sorry for the remaining employees. Eventually they’ll burn out and leave, or get dropped at a moments notice because Mike felt like it, leaving those employees wishing they had never been associated with the CEO, Mike McAvoy in the first place. Mike lacks vision. He's the living example of someone who tripped on a job and somehow failed up.

2
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