Ares Management Corporation

Arlington
Total Offices: 11
2,135 Total Employees
Year Founded: 1997

What's the Company Culture Like at Ares Management Corporation?

Updated on April 14, 2026

This page summarizes recurring themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Ares Management Corporation and has not been reviewed or approved by Ares Management Corporation.

What's the company culture like at Ares Management Corporation?

Strengths in collaboration, ownership, and collective pride are accompanied by challenges around workload intensity, managerial style, and perceived fairness in advancement. Together, these dynamics suggest a values‑forward, high‑performance culture with meaningful opportunity and support, tempered by team‑level variability in hours, management consistency, and equitable progression.

Key Insight for Candidates

Defining tradeoff: Ares’ apprenticeship-and-ownership culture—built on intensive collaboration and rapid responsibility—drives steep learning and influence, but expects sustained pace, visibility, and in-person collaboration that can compress work-life balance. Candidates seeking high accountability and senior exposure will thrive; those valuing predictable hours may struggle.

Evidence in Action

  • CREST Values Embedded The CREST values—Collaborative, Responsible, Entrepreneurial, Self‑Aware, Trustworthy—are codified as daily operating principles shaping hiring, feedback, and decision‑making. They unify teams in a non‑siloed, trust‑based culture, clarifying expected behaviors and empowering employees to collaborate and take ownership.
  • 360-Degree Feedback Cadence The 2024 performance process reported 94% completion of 360 and year‑end reviews, formalizing upward feedback and development. This predictable feedback cadence increases transparency and growth clarity, helping employees know where they stand and how to progress.

Positive Themes About Ares Management Corporation

  • Collaborative & Supportive Culture: Colleagues are often seen as kind and supportive, and cross‑team collaboration is explicitly promoted as a core advantage. The firm highlights a non‑siloed, teamwork‑first approach underpinned by its CREST values.
  • Accountability & Ownership: Employees are encouraged to take an ownership approach and operate as leaders within an entrepreneurial environment. Roles are described as offering significant responsibility and empowerment to drive change and thought leadership.
  • Recognition, Pride & Shared Success: Pride in the firm and shared achievement are recurring themes, supported by public recognition as a strong workplace. Leadership messaging emphasizes celebrating wins together and viewing culture and team as key assets.

Considerations About Ares Management Corporation

  • Workload & Burnout: The environment is characterized as fast‑paced with heavy workloads and long hours. Work‑life balance challenges appear in accounts of intense pacing and expectations to be “always on” in some groups.
  • High-Pressure & Micromanaging Culture: A demanding atmosphere in certain teams includes pressure to prioritize making managers look good and experiences of micromanagement. A “blaming culture” is referenced where negative input may not be well received.
  • Favoritism & Inequity: Concerns include nepotism and advancement or compensation not consistently aligning with contributions. Understaffing in some areas is said to intensify workloads without commensurate recognition.
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These insights are generated using AI and may not reflect internal data or verified company information. They are intended solely for general informational purposes and should not be considered a definitive assessment of the company’s reputation. If you are a representative of this company, and would like this page to be removed, you may contact us via this form.
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