Deel - What would you do?

General
1

The deel spy story is as unfathomable as already legendary. The spy’s reaction “I will take this risk” is already a meme in the tech sales space.

This weekend I read the actual testimony of the DS (Deel Spy) on this blog.

I recommend everyone taking the 10 min to read through this, because it is rather fascinating and it gives you all details in this saga.

The blogger emphasises in the end that the tech sales team at Deel should thoroughly look in the mirror and take consequences from this situation.

So my question is: What would you do if you were working for Deel?

I think the behaviour displayed by the CEO but also through a broader leadership team at Deel shows missing ethical values and integrity. I know it’s easier to judge, when you are not involved, but I think this is a behaviour which should not be tolerated by us individuals working for them. We are working so hard to gain trust from the market, prospects and partners - we, as the tech sales industry, do not deserve trust if we act like that.

I really hope that I would have the guts to quit it at Deel. If I would be a sales manager (which I am not), I would not hire sales leaders from Deel who were working in a high position during this time of espionage at Deel and who did not quit in Q1/Q2 2025. The testimonial shows what kind of information was sent from the spy to Deels CEO. If you see screenshots or screen recordings from your competitors CRM, you must know that this is at least suspicious. Especially if this happens regularly.

I know, people fight hard in business. But do we really want to work for someone, when we know that he actively recruited someone to spy on a competitor? The CEO even tried to bring the DS to leave Ireland and flee to Dubai.

I would not like to work for such a guy and I really hope I would act accordingly if I would be in such a situation. I am curious for your takes.

1 Like
2

Keith O’Brien’s detailed statement is interesting to read.

The whole story is fucked up.

That someone from Compliance would spy is really ironic.

That a person who probably has a 6-figure salary would risk his entire career for 5,000 euros/months, even though he has a family, is completely insane to me.

What this story shows me, though, is that industrial espionage is a real thing. This is just one case that has become public and was conducted unprofessionally. I can imagine that there are many more things going on.

The question of whether or not I would leave Deel is difficult to answer in my opinion. It probably depends on what role I would have. Deels itself hires people who then work for other companies. So if I had an employment contract with Deel and worked for another tech company, I would be less critical of the whole thing than if I were “really” working at Deel.

If I were in an operational role at Deel, I would try to leave the company, because the fish always stinks from the head and you won’t get rid of this culture in the medium term, especially not as long as the C-level is still there.

If I were employed by Deel for another company, I would try to get a direct contract with the employer in the medium term anyway, because both temporary workers and contracts through third-party providers always leave a bad taste in my mouth and often you are not 100% equal to the other employees.

To me, this kind of leadership shouldn’t just be “questioned” – it should have real consequences.
If we, as tech sellers, want to be taken seriously, we can’t just look away when something like this happens.

I know it’s hard to just quit, especially with family and financial pressure. But at some point we all have to decide what kind of culture we’re willing to enable.

I’m curious – what would it take for you to walk away from a job? Where do you draw the line?

3

Thanks for your reply!

Yes, my question is related to being an Account Executive, a BDR or a Sales Manager at Deel, really working for Deel and not hired through Deel for another company because of payroll reasons.

100% agreed.

If you are working in sales at Deel (and selling Deel) you have to look in the mirror.

1 Like