Anonymous A.

Ivy Exec has certainly had a controversial tone since its founding by Malek Jalal and Elena Bajic. Husband Malek Jalal was on the Board of Directors, wife Elena Bajic has been the CEO.

The company deserves praise in the last two years, as it has weathered the COVID storm of business, and seemed to reinvent itself, after very turbulent times.

Many people seem angry that they wish to be part of this best in class service, and often cannot make the cut, or do not get what they paid for. It is important to remember Ivy Exec is still a work in progress, and it will take decades before it becomes a sort of online country club for the best in class leaders to come together, be open with each other, and building trust. Slowly, it is coming along.

Among gossip circles in the city, etc. people who have taken a dislike to the company, or the current CEO Elena Bajic often make unfounded criticisms. Yes, Elena Bajic was married right after university to an older Malek Jalal; Bajic never had Wall Street experience, but simply married someone who was a renowned trader. Yes, Malek Jalal has been in prison for fraud. Yes, any legal search on a place like PacerMonitor, Unicourt, or even Justia shows that Malek Jalal has been in legal investigations for ten years, and there were lawsuits "Elena Bajic V Malek Jalal" "Jalal v. Bajic, Ivy Exec" and ten other lawsuits naming Jalal, even up to the present week this review was written.

Yet, anyone who actually researches the facts will see that Malek Jalal was involved in the bigger "United States v. Gregory Schnabel," a $50,000,000+ renewable energy fraud case. Malek Jalal of Unity Fuels was a subsidiary company, to which Malek Jalal eventually was convicted, faced with millions of dollars of fines and restitution.

However, to be clear, neither Elena Bajic or Ivy Exec was involved in any of this. Simply because someone disagrees with her management style, personality, business decisions, or expectations does not mean they should bring her personal life or the unscrupulous action of a spouse against her. That is unfair.

Additionally, Ivy Exec faces criticism because many of the employees are outsourced in Serbia. Serbia has less expensive labor, including white collar workers, combined with fast internet infrastructure. Ivy Exec is using a smart model by having a well-decorated, posh Manhattan office, with lots of manpower in Serbia. This is actually a way to keep productivity high, especially on a lean budget.

In the end, if people object to Elena Bajic or Ivy Exec, I suggest they write to their customer service agents. After terminating Malek Jalal at the time of his trials and divorce, the company has gone a long way to cleaning up all operations, and trying to refocus. I think this is a good example of reinventing a company, and working admirably towards better results, or even some sort redemption. I hope business schools eventually write a case study about everything that happened, and how to persevere during tough times.