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Technology Stocks : CrossKeys Systems Corp [CKEY and CKY/TSE] -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Another Investor who wrote (460)	4/8/1999 7:49:00 AM
From: Glenn McDougall	Respond to of 792

CrossKeys CEO making way for 'presidential leader' James Bagnall Ottawa Citizen KANATA, Ont. - It's a rare entrepreneur who has the temperament, experience, and skill necessary to guide a startup through several stages of growth. John Selwyn, who said yesterday he will be stepping down as chief executive of CrossKeys Systems Corp., is not a member of this select group. "Last year I found myself agonizing over decisions that today I would find slam-dunk easy," he said in an interview. "But I'm not certain the company can afford to have me learning on the job." Ian McLaren, currently president of MCI Systemhouse Canada, will take over as CrossKeys' top executive May 1, corresponding with the start of the Kanata firm's next fiscal year. It promises to be a challenging initial assignment for Mr. McLaren, 42. Two months ago -- even as it revealed its 10th straight quarter of improved earnings -- CrossKeys warned investors to expect weak sales over the next two quarters. The main culprit was the unexpectedly sudden winding down of a key project funded by Siemens AG of Munich. Mr. McLaren believes there's still plenty of growth left in CrossKeys, which was founded seven years ago by Mr. Selwyn. "All of us have gone through phases where we have to regroup," he said, "and CrossKeys has good strategies in place now as well as some of the best engineers in the business." Mr. Selwyn maintains that CrossKeys' core business -- performance management software for telephone companies and other service providers -- is healthy enough. "My goal was to pass the baton with all the difficult decisions made," he said. "We've set the stage for the next fiscal year." By this he means that CrossKeys has upgraded its main product lines and is in the process of expanding its global sales channels through partners such as Ascend Communications Inc. of Alameda, Calif. However, CrossKeys still generates more than half its sales through Kanata-based Newbridge Networks Corp., which holds a significant minority stake in CrossKeys. Indeed, CrossKeys was the founding member of Newbridge's family of affiliate firms and was the first to go public. The result, until very recently, was nearly seven years of steady, occasionally spectacular growth and the construction of a software firm that employed 326 at the end of January. But, with rare exceptions, its share price languished -- perhaps because institutional investors and some customers may have sensed Mr. Selwyn's ambivalence about the top job. "I am at heart an engineer," said Mr. Selwyn, "and what CrossKeys needs is a presidential leader and a presenter. That's what Ian brings." Mr. Selwyn's decision to step aside did not come easily but it was his to make. The former Gandalf Technologies engineer informed the CrossKeys board of his intention about nine months ago. Mr. Matthews tried to talk him out of it, but later accepted Mr. Selwyn's rationale. Mr. Selwyn will help Mr. McLaren with the transition then plans to take a year off by spending time in New Zealand.