Mary -
While I will accept your statement that "savvy investors and portfolio managers" look for companies managed by people with a financial interest in the company, I don't buy your whole argument against Tim HIll.
In my view, one of the most important factors in Iomega's success to date is marketing. Tim Hill, as VP of Marketing, certainly deserves some credit for that. After all, the Syquest EZ135 was, in some respects, a superior product to the Zip. But it is now discontinued, and Syquest is teetering on the brink of ruin. Mostly because of superior marketing by Iomega.
Moreover, insiders still own something like 30% of Iomega stock. Sounds like plenty of incentive to me.
You made the statement that "Iomega has to capture the corporate market for the desktop and client/server backup function." I couldn't agree less. The corporate server backup market has no shortage of competitors, all of whom have a solid lead over any entry Iomega could make there.
On the other hand, with the Zip and Jaz drives, Iomega practically single-handedly invented a whole new product category. They are the recognized leaders in that market.
I can't see any benefit to Iomega in entering the corporate server backup market, much less any reason that it should be imperative for them.
- Allen |
