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Technology Stocks : InfoSpace (INSP): Where GNET went! -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Sarkie who wrote (23383)	1/22/2001 12:32:38 PM
From: The O	Respond to of 28311

from the fool, but it shows the sentiment many feel: --Jain is once again CEO. I know some will say that nothing has really changed and all of the same people are on board. I know some will cheer the return of Jain and look forward to his more colorful style. However, I have the feeling we have just taken a huge step backwards. With all of the recent mergers, INSP has acquired real talent. They also actively sought to shore up the management pool and position themselves for the next step. -- Arun Sarin is the best example of the new corporate philosophy. He brought credibility and a proven track record to the company at a time when it was starting to have a credibility gap. Jain said he realized he couldn't work more than 24 hours a day so he hired Sarin. He gave up the day to day control of the company in order to concentrate on the "big picture". Jain had taken some heat for his boastful comments to the press (comments which I defended on these boards, by the way). The hiring of Sarin sent a strong message that he was serious about the growth of the company and would sacrifice his ego to accomplish his goals. Likewise, Rand Rosenberg was hailed as a move in the right direction. He is respected by the Street and had a proven record as CFO. He was positioned to improve corporate relations with the investing community. Remember, Jain took the company public with no significant help from the venture capitalists. Until the hiring of Rosenberg, Tammy Halstead had been the defacto CFO from her position as the Chief Accounting Officer. These are two vastly different jobs. The hiring of Rosenberg showed that the company understood the importance of credibility in the financial department. A return to Tammy Halstead as CFO appears to make little sense. Russ Horowitz was named COO and a director when Go2Net merged. He was seen as an asset because he had been successful in building Go2Net into a profitable company. Maybe it is unreasonable to expect so many "chiefs" to get along under one roof, but the repositioning of Horowitz appears to be a drastic step. He is replaced by one of the "old guard". Ed Belsheim had been the Senior Vice President and Chief Counsel, a company "insider". He is yet another example of Jain taking the company back from the "outsiders". The management changes last year were so positive because it meant Jain realized he couldn't do it himself. He appeared to acknowledge his limitations and put the company ahead of his ego. Now he has completely reversed course. All of the positive changes are undone. The current stock price cannot be blamed. The prior management team is not responsible. In fact, it is hard to believe they could have done a better job in executing the business plan.