There was clear message sent Wednesday:
Raphi is anxious and ready to leave XICO and I believe he is thinking as a shareholder (a term I borrow from rvwink) rather than a CEO. Raphi is a good man, brilliant in many ways and a honest to the core. He listened to concerned shareholders and appreciated their inputs. He cares about them and the company he's built for over 20 years. He cares about his employees and can claim many as friends. Much of what's good about Raphi is also what is stifling XICO's ability to take the next step. Raphi recognizes what XICO needs to grow and is taking the appropriate steps to insure XICO realizes it's potential.
There were many unique facets to the equation that lead to today's announcement. A group of shareholders banded together to work with XICO as team members rather than adversaries. All too often when a stock takes a huge hit the first move for shareholders is to sue rather than
seek a mutually beneficial solution. Litigation was never a consideration for this group. As a result, I'm proud to claim perihelial membership to this informal union of like thinking people.
I see the effort XICO is focusing on their operational and executive transitions as very positive. Bruce is an "operations" and "process" guy. Coupling this with his extensive experience at XICO, makes Bruce an obvious asset in both transitions. Based on his current share ownership and potential worth of stock options, Bruce has plenty of selfish interest in making sure XICO succeeds. He also has his credibility as being a top executive on the line.
However, this is not to indicate the deal is a slam dunk; it's not. XICO has plenty of challenges and, like with all companies, their success is dependant on their execution. It appears that they have many of the factors critical for success and that they are well focused on acquiring those
they lack. In this regard, I think modifications to the Board of Directors should be viewed as importantly as the CEO search. This said, the following is a more complete list of what I see as the top 7 Critical Success Factors:
- New and permanent CEO
- Additions or replacements to strengthen the BoD
- Complete transition to out source fab
- Sell CA fab
- New strategic design wins
- Introduction of new products
- C7 yield and production volume
Regards, pmcw |
