Former Intersolv CEO Gary Greenfield named new CEO
LONDON and MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 30,
1998--Micro Focus Group Plc (London Stock Exchange: MICF; NASDAQ:
MIFGY) today announced changes in its management structure.
Gary Greenfield, a current director of Micro Focus and the former
INTERSOLV CEO, has been appointed president and CEO of Micro Focus.
Martin Waters has resigned as president and CEO and will become a
non-executive director.
J. Michael Gullard, chairman of the Board of Micro Focus said,
"Martin Waters created the strategic direction for Micro Focus and he
was the driver for the INTERSOLV merger. Martin built the foundation
for a strong multinational, information technology company which we
intend to grow profitably into the next century. Gary Greenfield's
knowledge of the company and his enthusiasm make him the ideal
candidate to drive the company forward. With Gary's leadership and
Martin's continued participation as a non-executive director, the
Board is confident of Micro Focus's ability to become a significant
player in the enterprise software industry."
"This is an exciting time for Micro Focus," stated Gary
Greenfield. "We have market-leading products and services in crucial
segments of the IT industry, and an experienced team of professionals
to drive the realization of our potential. As a nearly $400 million
global supplier of enterprise software development solutions, we have
a significant opportunity to be a major factor in the plans of IT
organizations into the next millennium. I am very much looking forward
to completing the integration of the two companies that Martin and the
executive team have begun."
Mr. Greenfield brings more than 20 years experience in managing
information technology companies. He holds a bachelor of science in
engineering and international affairs from the U.S. Naval Academy, and
a master of science in information systems management from George
Washington University. He also holds a master of business
administration from Harvard University.
Mr. Greenfield's career includes a variety of senior management
positions at technology companies, including a subsidiary of United
Telecommunications and Execucom Systems. He joined INTERSOLV in 1987
as vice president of marketing, and held a number of executive
management positions over the ensuing five years, including executive
vice president, product development and support, and executive vice
president, product operations. In 1992 he became chief operating
officer, in 1995 he became president, and in 1996 he became CEO of the
company. During his tenure, INTERSOLV grew from $14 million to $196
million in annual revenues. As CEO, Mr. Greenfield accelerated revenue
growth, increased profitability and moved the company into
market-leading positions in its three core businesses. In September of
1998, INTERSOLV merged with Micro Focus and Mr. Greenfield joined the
Board of Micro Focus.
Mr. Greenfield serves on the Board of Hyperion Solutions, Inc.
and is chairman of the Information Technology Association of America.
He is 43 years old and lives in Potomac, Maryland with his wife and
daughter.
Micro Focus (NASDAQ: MIFGY; London Stock Exchange: MICF) is a
leading software solutions vendor that enables corporations to
accelerate the development and delivery of applications designed to
run in today's distributed enterprise computing environments. The
Company's solutions allow its customers to leverage their existing IT
investments in applications and people; to access information quickly
and easily; to build applications that integrate existing information
assets across the enterprise; and to manage the development and
deployment process to ensure quality applications. Founded in 1976,
Micro Focus is known as a leading provider of enterprise application
development and maintenance solutions for MVS, UNIX, Windows, NT and
Web environments. With its recent acquisition of INTERSOLV, a global
market leader in software configuration management and open data
connectivity products and services, Micro Focus is now a leader in
helping its customers respond quickly to business and technological
change.
Micro Focus products include the PVCS line of application life
cycle management products, the DataDirect line of standards-based data
access and connectivity products, and the Micro Focus line of
applications development and transformation solutions. In the U.S.,
Micro Focus is located at 701 East Middlefield Road, Mountain View,
California 94043 - telephone 650/938-3700. In the UK, the Company is
located at The Lawn, 22-30 Old Bath Road, Newbury, Berkshire, RG14 1QN
- telephone 01635 32646. For additional information on Micro Focus and
its products, visit the Micro Focus Web site at
microfocus.com.
The following statement is made in accordance with the U.S.
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: This press release
contains forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and
uncertainties. There are certain important factors that could cause
results to differ materially from those anticipated by the statements
made herein. Factors that could cause actual results to differ
materially include, among others, the ability of the Company to
effectively manage its costs against uncertain revenue expectations,
the ability to manage and integrate recently acquired businesses or
other businesses that it may acquire in the future, the potential for
a decrease in net revenue which may be caused by delays in the timing
of the delivery of products or services, the ability of Micro Focus to
develop, release and sell products and services to customers in the
highly dynamic market for enterprise software solutions, the potential
need for enterprise software solutions to shift based on changes in
underlying technology standards coming into use, and the effect of
competitors' efforts to enter the Company's markets. Further
information on potential factors which could affect the Company's
financial results is included in the Registration Statement on Form
F-4 relating to the INTERSOLV acquisition, Micro Focus' Annual Report
on Form 20-F for the year ended January 31, 1998 and Quarterly Reports
on Form 6-K for the quarters ended April 30, 1998 and July 31, 1998,
and INTERSOLV's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended April
30, 1998 and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended July
31, 1998, each as filed or submitted (as the case may be) with the
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, as they may be updated and
amended with future filings.
Note to Editors: Micro Focus is a registered trademark of Micro
Focus Limited, and INTERSOLV is a registered trademark of INTERSOLV,
Inc. All other trademarks as they appear in this announcement are the
property of their respective owners.
--30--as/sf*
CONTACT: Micro Focus
Rick Van Hoesen, 650/404-7019, UK 01635-32646
or
Financial Dynamics
Giles Sanderson/Edward Bridges, UK 0171-831-3113
or
Abernathy MacGregor Frank
Kathryn Akers, 212/371-5999 |
