And David, Novell is now on "life support" with CPR being performed...
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November 10, 1997, Issue: 762
Section: 20 to Watch
Eric Schmidt:Novell
By Stuart Glascock
With the deftness and prowess of an emergency-room medic, Novell Inc.'s
new chairman and chief executive is countering the many challenges facing
him and the company he has been chosen to resuscitate.
As turnaround doctor, technology visionary and corporate chief, Eric Schmidt
operates at Internet
speed. He manages in a state of accelerated but surgically precise action,
dividing his attention between Novell's offices in Provo, Utah, and San Jose,
Calif., and a myriad of other places.
Most days, the suit-and-tie-clad executive blazes an ambitious and far-flung
trail, calling on customers from Boston to London to China. He promotes
Novell at a parade of shows and conferences and orchestrates product
launches around the country.
The urgency within Novell is as real and dramatic as in any emergency room.
Schmidt is being called upon to perform true battlefield triage. Resellers,
corporate clients and Novell employees are counting on his skills to return
the company to its former glory.
Schmidt inherits a beleaguered giant, fraught with internal disarray, besieged
by powerful external competition, and teetering on what could be either the
brink of a return to glory or complete collapse. Schmidt applies CPR with
one hand and waves the flag of a renewed company with the other.
One day he dispels takeover rumors, trying to convince Wall Street of
Novell's stable pulse. Another day he fights internal hemorrhaging that would
be fatal to lesser companies.
As the former chief technology officer of Sun Microsystems Inc., Schmidt
understands the network-operating-system lifeblood that courses through
Novell's history, and he knows the technical language of Novell's future:the
Internet.
Speaking at a Novell VAR conference shortly after he was named to his new
post, Schmidt so impressed resellers with his technical prowess that a dozen
VARs lingered afterwards to have pictures taken with him.
"He is one of the few people in this industry who has the vision and technical
knowledge to understand what is happening and communicate it to people,"
says Bill Towey, president of VAR Powerscourt LLP, Tacoma, Wash., and
co-chairman of Novell's Platinum resellers council.
Larry Phelps, Certified NetWare Engineer at Minneapolis-based Software
Tailors, adds:"He doesn't think of just what is, but [also of] what could be."
During his internship in Novell's trauma ward, Schmidt reacted quickly. After
worse-than-expected earnings were recorded in May, he laid off 18 percent
of the workforce, including several top managers. He has condensed
operations in Provo, relocating company headquarters from Orem, Utah.
After another bad quarter, Schmidt promised that Novell would not stuff the
channel with product again. He supported these words with checks, balances
and sales incentives to prevent future channel-stuffing. These measures came
after Novell posted a 35 cent-per-share loss on sales of $90 million for its
fiscal third quarter, ended July 31.
"The most challenging part was sorting through all of the internal issues
accompanying the now-complete restructuring," Schmidt says.
Former Sun colleague Kim Polese, now chief executive of Silicon Valley
Internet start-up Marimba Inc., also is confident that Schmidt will save his
patient. "He is absolutely the right person for the job, because he knows what
he needs to bring in. He has the technical vision that company desperately
needed, and he is assembling a great team," she says. "I think he's going to
pull it off."
On the product front, Schmidt has overseen the delivery of Internet and
intranet products, including Novell Directory Services for Windows NT,
BorderManager, GroupWise 5.2 and IntranetWare.
"He is an awesome technologist, committed to advancing network
computing," says Sun Chief Executive Scott McNealy.
Schmidt held management and technology positions for 14 years at Sun.
Before Sun, he was a member of the research staff at the computer-science
lab at the Xerox Corp. Palo Alto Research Center and also held positions at
Bell Laboratories.
But today, the Internet is giving the entire industry and the world a new life
force. In fact, the Internet is propelling the "first real new paradigm in
computing in the last 15 years," Schmidt says.
"Clearly, Java will play a central role in Novell's strategy, particularly on the
server-side. Up until now, Java has been discussed at great length on the
client side, but Novell sees the opportunity on the server side," Schmidt says.
Quick to share his technological vision, Schmidt is a private man, jealous and
protective of his non-office time. After all, a person who spends his day
performing life-saving surgery and preventative care deserves some R&R
away from the E.R.
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Title:Chairman and chief executive
Company Headquarters:Provo, Utah
Age:42
Total 1996 Salary & Bonus:$975,000
Years At The Company:Seven months
Favorite Way To Relax:"Reconfiguring the SoundBlaster card on my PC"
Most-admired trait in another person:Intelligence
Least-admired trait in another person:People who play politics
What book are you reading right now? Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer
Who would you cast to play you in a movie? "Robert Redford, of course"
Favorite vegetable:French fries
Favorite comedian:Dana Carvey
Copyright (c) 1997 CMP Media Inc.
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A shame... |
