EY CA Death: Shark Tank India's Ashneer Grover 'Warned' About Firm's Work Culture, Old Video Viral

The tragic death of 26-year-old Ernst & Young employee Anna Sebastian Perayil has shocked the nation. She passed away from cardiac arrest on July 20, reportedly due to continued "work-related stress". She joined Ernst and Young EY in March 2024 after passing one of India’s toughest exams, CA but her demise happened just four months after joining.

The incident gained wider attention when a letter from her mother, Anita Augustine, to EY’s India head went viral on September 17. Later, her father, Sibi Joseph, also told IANS that Anna was struggling with severe sleep deprivation and was unable to eat properly. This has sparked discussions about the work ethics and culture in the Big 4 firms. Meanwhile, an old video of Ashneer Grover, a prominent entrepreneur and Shark Tank India judge, criticising EY’s work culture has also resurfaced.

Shark Tank India fame Ashneer Grover quit EY in 1 day

The former Shark Tank judge Ashneer Grover once revealed that he visited Ernst & Young office shortly after resigning as the Chief Financial Officer of grocery delivery service Grofers (now Blinkit) in 2017, where he was presented with a salary package of ₹1 crore but he refused just after taking a round of the office.

Amid the recent incident, the viral video clip from an event doing the rounds on the internet again.

A lifeless environment: Ashneer on EY in an old video

In the video, reflecting on his experience at Ernst & Young, Ashneer Grover described the office atmosphere as eerily quiet. “I took a quick tour, pretended to have chest pain, and left,” he said. He humorously noted, “Bhai saab, itne mare hue log, bas kriya karam karni rah gaya tha, sab laashe padi thi, (They were such dead people, only their last rites were remaining.)”

He further said, “Jahan pe koi bol raha hai bada toxic culture hai, bahut sahi jagah hai. Kaam to waha ho raha hai. Baaki non-toxic, bahut mil jaygene. (If someone says a place has a toxic culture, that’s a good place. Real work happens there. You’ll find plenty of other ‘non-toxic’ places.)”

Shark Tank India season one investor comments are now getting viral again with people saying he warned regarding EY a few years ago.