Joe A,
Here's the story/bio on Joe M.
November 11, 1996, Issue: 709
Section: 20 to Watch
Joe Marengi, Novell Inc.
By Darryl K. Taft
Chicken man Frank Perdue said it took a tough man to run his company.
Perhaps Novell Inc. was thinking the same thing when it appointed
Joseph Marengi president just a few months ago.
A veteran of the sales side of Novell, Marengi is known as a tough
customer who can dish it out and does not worry about having to take it
back. He even looks the part, with his Marlboro Man resemblance and
his swaggering air. Some say he has a militaristic demeanor-he was a U.S.
Coast Guard officer-or that he seems fit for the upper levels of law
enforcement or some role of protector. And protect he must. He has to
cover Novell's flank from the attack of its powerful foe in the great
Northwest-Microsoft Corp.
Unlike Perdue, Marengi is no scrawny fellow. He hits the gym daily for
monstrous workouts that help reduce his stress. They also provide a
strong foundation for the man many are counting on to take Novell to the
next level and to ensure the company's very existence.
"If anybody can turn it around, it's him," says Roland Richter, Novell's
vice president of sales in Europe. "That's because of his experience on the
sales side. If he can't do it, nobody can do it."
One industry observer, formerly with Novell, describes Marengi as a "a
tough, competitive guy." Marengi "does not have the thoughtful demeanor
of your typical company president," the source says. "He is given to
bravado, but he is Novell Red through and through."
As Orem, Utah-based Novell's Most Valuable Player, Marengi's job is
to turn the company around and make an impact in a hurry.
Although he is leveraging his sales experience, 43-year-old Marengi takes
exception to suggestions that he was promoted primarily as a motivator.
He headed sales and was Novell's top salesman for the past several
years. Yet he says the transition to president will be more natural than
some think.
"I've always been the informal leader here at Novell since we
experienced our difficulties unwinding from WordPerfect," he says. "So
it's not something that's completely foreign to me."
Marengi concedes he will have to make a few transitions. Perhaps the
biggest will be to permeate his customer focus throughout Novell. "In
other words, it's important to have the developers developing, but we
need to be developing for a specific reason," he says. "They need to
always remember that if the customer can't use what you're making, or it
doesn't bring them benefit, then it's of no value."
Another issue will be to get up to speed from an engineering perspective.
Marengi says he must ensure that projects are on track, as opposed to
just taking someone's word for it. "How do you double-check for that
sort of thing? That's part of what I've done by flattening the organizational
structure of the company," he explains.
"I have to say that I've never been running faster than now, since Joe
came to the helm," says Glenn Ricart, Novell's chief technical officer.
"What's very different about Joe is he comes from the sales side, the
people side and, unlike a technologist such as [former Novell chief
executive] Bob Frankenberg, he depends on me much more for that input
in a very direct way."
Marengi expects everyone to run faster.
"I collect data quickly, make decisions and get on with it. I don't have
'analysis paralysis,' and I refuse to allow that to come into this company.
Because it was here," Marengi says, adding that he will initiate more
risk-taking at Novell.
"With him it's better to ask forgiveness than to ask permission because he
wants you to have moved ahead," Ricart says.
To spur sales and confidence in Novell, Marengi met recently with top IT
executives to inform them of Novell's plans. "People want to see us
succeed. And we'll make decisions that allow us to do that," he says.
Novell's future can be summed up in attitude, says Marengi. "What I'm
doing is saying, 'Look, it's ours to win. Let's go for it,' " he adds.
His competitive attitude has permeated the sales force so far and is
beginning to extend into other parts of the company, according to
Marengi.
The question remains, though, whether this is enough to energize Novell
to stave off Microsoft.
Erik Sherman, a NetWare consultant and author in Marshfield, Mass.,
summed up Novell's situation: "They have some very good technology to
offer. They should concentrate on telling companies what they have, rather
than apologizing for not being what they're told they should be."
To achieve this, Novell is embracing and extending the functionality of
Windows NT in a NetWare environment. "The bottom line is I recognize
that [Microsoft] will have success, and how we deal with that success that
they have I plan on turning into an advantage for Novell, not a detriment
for Novell," says Marengi.
If there is any message he wants the channel and users to take away from
today's Novell, it is that the company will be a full-service provider of
intranets focusing primarily on security and performance, with a very
aggressive, open attitude toward the marketplace, Marengi says.
As testament to Novell's renewed courtship of the channel and Marengi's
tenacity, Novell's president recently went fishing with some channel
executives and, along the lines of a Hemingway hero, caught a 500-pound
marlin. Some say Marengi will need just as much luck and stamina at
Novell.
Marengi can "absolutely rally the troops, which is something Novell
needs," says Sheldon Laube, chief technology officer at USWeb Corp.,
Santa Clara, Calif., and a former Novell colleague. "I think he has a great
opportunity to get the firm kicked into high gear and get people focused
on the future and competing."
If, as the ad says, "it takes a tough man to make a tender chicken," then it
takes an even tougher guy to win back market share in the network wars.
And Novell is betting that Marengi is the one who can whip up the recipe
for success.
SIDEBAR
- Full Title: President
- Company Name & Location: Novell Inc., Orem, Utah
- Age: 43
- 1995 Salary & Bonus: $572,992
- Favorite Class in High School: Refused to answer
- Favorite Beverage: Water
- Favorite Web site: Novell
- Most-Used Software Application: Corel's WordPerfect suite
- Length Of Average Work Week: 60 hours
- Most Extravagant Purchase: Bronze of a dog
- Favorite Animal: Dog
- If you could go back in time, what era would you visit and why?: "I'd go
back into the 1800s to the era of the clipper ships. I would've loved to be
the captain of a clipper ship."
Copyright r 1996 CMP Media Inc.
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Sorry about the cut and paste. Enjoy.
Mike |
