While all of the financial guru's focus on the impact of today's announcement, I decided to focus more on the appointment of Jan Baan. What I found is incredible. Just do a search in Alta Vista on the name "Jan Baan" and it will return a staggering 441 web pages about him.
Is this what Denise meant when she said "I've been in the IT industry for 10 years, and I truly have not seen a entrepreneurial tour de force quite so outstanding!"
This is just about the most incredible appointment that I could have imagined! Mr. Baan could have picked from hundreds of companies that would beg him (and pay quite well) to have him as their Chairman. Well done Net Shepherd!
With a powerhouse such as Mr. Baan and with the financial backing and resources of the Vanenburg Group, it will only be a short term before we see what could be some of the biggest deals and opportunities realized.
You can't imagine how good I feel today!
Regards,
Barry
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Here is what Fortune Magazine said about him
Fortune magazine
July 8, 1996
Started 18 years ago inside a refurbished Dutch chicken coop by a college dropout, Baan now has an avid following among corporate technology buyers and Wall Street analysts. Since the company went public last year, its market capitalization has risen from $680 million to more than $3 billion.
Baan's software replaces customized manufacturing, distribution, and planning applications for mainframes with programs that run on client-server networks. The company's fiercest competitors are SAP, the market leader in such software, and Oracle. But Baan is increasingly outmaneuvering its rivals. It first made its mark two years ago by landing a $20 million contract with Boeing. Mercedes-Benz, AlliedSignal, and Northern Telecom have also signed on; Ford Motor may soon.
Founder Jan Baan, 50, aims to make his customers self-reliant as quickly as possible. He calls competitors' software "spaghetti code" and compares it to selling unassembled auto parts instead of a functioning car. By contrast, Baan's software is meant to work more like a consultant in a box: It is graphically intuitive and allows users to create templates that chart business practices such as procurement, inventory control, or just-in-time manufacturing. Customers such as Boeing find it relatively easy to work with. The giant planemaker is installing Baan in a reengineering effort that involves retiring roughly half its mainframe applications over the next three years. Doug Frederick, the Boeing techie overseeing the changeover, likes that he can implement Baan's software quickly with a minimum of outside support.
Baan's profits powered up more than tenfold, to $15.3 million last year. But Jan Baan will not be software's next billionaire. A devout Calvinist with eight children, he and his brother, who helped build the company, set up a nonprofit foundation to fund schools and orphanages. Just before the IPO, they sold the foundation most of their shares for $31 million. Current value: $1.5 billion. Nevertheless, insists Baan, "I am quite overpaid."
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And in April, 1998 here is what Bill Gates had to say:
"Baan is a great ally for Microsoft," said Bill Gates, chairman and CEO of Microsoft. "By combining Baan's deep knowledge of the extended enterprise with Microsoft technologies, we have created the building blocks necessary for a comprehensive 'digital nervous system.' Enterprise customers clearly benefit from this relationship by lowering their cost of ownership, increasing interoperability and accelerating their measurable return on investment."
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Mr. Baan has incredible contacts and friends throughout the world. Just look at this impressive list of speakers at The European IT Forum 1998 6-8 September 1998, Paris. Note that Mr. Baan was one of the speakers.
Patrick McGovern - Chairman & CEO, IDG
Frank Gens - Senior Vice President, IDC
Bill Gates - Chairman & CEO, Microsoft
John Gantz - Senior Vice President, IDC
Tony Picardi - Vice President, IDC
Roberto Masiero - European President, IDC
Puni Rajah - Senior Research Analyst, European Support Services, IDC
Tom Oleson - Research Director, IDC
Giorgio Leskovic - European Banking Services Director, IDC
Luisa Bordoni - Director, IT Vertical Markets, IDC
Gigi Wang - Senior Vice President, IDC
Hendrik Geissler - Head of Global Marketing, PN Business Group, Siemens AG
Mark Winther - Group Vice President, Worldwide Communications, IDC/Link
Jeff Meers - European President, IDG/IMS
Geoffrey Moore - Author of "Crossing the Chasm" and "Inside the Tornado"
Gerhard Schulmeyer - CEO, Siemens Nixdorf
Lewis E. Platt, Chairman - President & CEO, Hewlett-Packard
Erwin Konigs - Chairman & CEO, Software AG
Jan Baan - CEO, BAAN
Raymond J. Lane - President & Chief Operating Officer, Oracle Corporation
Bruce Nelson - Chief Science Officer, Cisco Systems
Marc Sokol - Senior Vice President of Product Strategy, Computer Associates
Christopher M. Stone - Senior Vice President, Strategy & Corporate Development, Novell
Linda Sanford - General Manager, Global industries, IBM
Joseph W. Alsop - CEO, Progress Software
Rosemary O'Mahony - Managing Partner Technology Europe, Andersen Consulting
Scott Mc Nealy - Chairman, President & CEO, Sun Microsystems
David Vellante - Senior Vice President, IDC
Dr. Bob Metcalfe - Inventor of Ethernet and Vice President Technology, IDG |
