From a 4/26/00 article in the Ottawa Citizen on the new CEO.
Sounds like Mr. Francis is a very good fit for FORM. Let's hope the revenue numbers start moving north.
Jim
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Kevin Francis is trading in his role as president and chief executive of Xerox Canada Ltd. for JetForm Corp., an Ottawa company with only one-tenth the revenues.
Mr. Francis, who spent the last two of his 28 years with Xerox in the chief executive's office, will take over as president and chief executive of JetForm on May 15, succeeding John Kelly, who retired in December.
The switch will put Mr. Francis in charge of a company is struggling back after a dismal 1999, during which its software for automating business
operations was hard hit by slow sales that the company linked to customers' preference to spend on Y2K-related expenses.
Putting the company on a high- growth strategy is a challenge Mr. Francis welcomes.
"The chance to become CEO on a worldwide basis of a very dynamic company presented an opportunity which I find very exciting," said Mr. Francis, adding that JetForm's sales of about $100 million were similar to those of Xerox Canada when he first joined the company in 1972.
"I see similar opportunities" to build JetForm's presence in global markets, he said during a conference call with reporters yesterday.
Mr. Francis said the new position also fit with his personal objective of remaining in Canada while heading a technology company with a global market.
Had he stayed at Xerox Canada, the next step in his career would have been a position outside Canada with the company's U.S.-based parent, said Mr. Francis.
"My choice was a personal one, based on my country of choice," said Mr. Francis, a Cape Breton native who is outspoken on the topic of Canada's opportunities on the global stage.
"I speak out as often as anyone will ask me on the importance of Canadians being much more confident and being able to see the global marketplace as a real opportunity," he said.
Mr. Francis is a member of the Conference Board of Canada, the Business Council on National Issues, the Public Policy Forum, as well as technology and other associations.
Mr. Francis held a number of executive positions in marketing, sales, administration and information management and global re-engineering during his career with Xerox, a document management company that has similarities in its core businesses to JetForm.
Expanding revenue growth at the company, continuing to make the transition of providing business tools for the World Wide Web and driving "a culture of flawless execution" so the company is accountable for its forecasts are the three critical challenges facing JetForm, he said.
John Gleed, who has served as JetForm's interim chief executive during the four-month search to replace John Kelly, said the company was exceptionally pleased with its new chief executive.
"The strength of Kevin's experience, leadership and decisiveness, combined with his ability to devise and execute a winning strategy are tremendous assets," said Mr. Gleed, who will remain as a company consultant and director after Mr. Francis moves into his new job.
The company, which ends its fourth quarter on April 30 and reports those results in June, has wracked up losses of 43 cents a share in the first three quarters of its fiscal 1999-2000 year.
JetForm shares gained 30 cents to $8.40 on the Toronto Stock Exchange before the announcement yesterday, which came after the close of trading. |
