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Technology Stocks : Qualcomm Incorporated (QCOM) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: bdog who wrote (11009)	6/1/1998 5:23:00 PM
From: Gregg Powers	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 152472

bdog: I hope I don't some like some kind of pathetic sycophant when I discuss Irwin Jacobs. I have been managing money professionally for over fourteen years, and in that time I have interacted with many managements, some good, some bad and some indifferent. During this time, some individuals have impressed me with their business acumen, some with their engineering prowess, others with their entrepreneurial zeal while still others with their solidity and professional competence. Irwin is really unique. A breathtaking intellect, with a dead-on-center moral compass and a degree of humility that one could almost mistake for false modesty if you didn't know the man. I am awed by few people, but Irwin certainly makes the short-list. A couple of weeks back, he and I spoke at length about the state of the business. We talked about QPE's manufacturing issues specifically and the manufacturing model generally; we talked about the standards battle, the worldwide deployment of IS-95 and the long-term business opportunity. Irwin specifically articulated many of the actions that the company is taking to improve operating performance, and with it, shareholder value. I heard a profound sense of urgency. Would Irwin sell the company to Ericsson? I personally believe that, if push came to shove, he would do the right thing for shareholders but would fight like crazy to provide his people (i.e. employees) with a more compatible culture (e.g. Nortel or Lucent). I am similarly convinced that he thinks that far more value can be created by Qualcomm remaining independent. Within this context, I believe that Irwin feels intense pressure to improve operating performance so that an unfriendly overture is prohibitively expensive. I want him to win. I want him to win because I like and respect him. I want him to win because he and his team commercialized a technology that virtually everyone else had concluded was uncommercializable. I want him to win because arrogant and rich companies like Ericsson shouldn't be able to buy off the competition and stifle innovation. And, finally, I want him to win because I think my clients will make buckets of money as the company gets its manufacturing house in order and begins to capitalize on its powerful technological position. Enough said. Best regards, Gregg