|
We
had the pleasure of interviewing Gil Amelio, former
CEO and chairman of Apple Computer, and prior to that,
Chairman and CEO of National Semiconductor.
I
know you mentioned that you moved to Orange County for
personal reasons. Can you tell us a little about what
you have been working on since you arrived.
I
have been focusing on two areas: 1. Helping launch new
companies. 2. Working with established companies that
can use my unique experience to help them manage their
business through change.
What
advice do you give to start-ups?
I
believe in focusing on the fundamentals. I use a
simple checklist of three items to determine if the
idea is a good investment. The questions apply to
start-ups, but are also useful for larger companies
that are looking at expanding their product line. The
questions are:
-
Is
the technology real?
-
Can
you win in the marketplace?
-
Is
it worth it? If you answer yes to the first two
questions, is there a large enough market to make
it worthwhile?
How
are you working with established companies?
I
have put together a team that includes 2 other
experienced executives that were part of successful
corporate transformation teams that helped me in the
past. We work with CEO's and Boards of Directors help
them manage their companies through change. Change is
mandatory, and if you are to be successful, you must
drive change or change will drive you. Business
follows the basic laws of physics.
I
used outside consultants liberally. Just because you
bring in consultants doesn't mean that you abdicate
responsibility. You have to pick great advisors who
can really help everyone see the big picture. It takes
a lot of energy to drive change. One person seldom has
the energy to do it all. That's why it is important to
bring in experts who can help drive the
transformation.
CEO's
must realize that it is very difficult to get people
to change. When managers are under stress, they
retreat to what they know best. For example, I had a
division manager who had come up from the sales ranks.
When we had problems, he immediately focused on fixing
sales and failed to address the real challenges in
operations and the problems that we faced with the
union workforce.
The
other secret is something that every racing driver
knows; "you pass them in the turns". Tough
times present an opportunity for you to get ahead of
your competition. When I was running Rockwell
Semiconductor (now Conexant) and we hit a downturn, I
used my engineers to work on issues that they had been
too busy to address, like yield improvement. Of
course, the trick is to call the turn accurately.
What
is the secret to "calling the turn"?
You
constantly touch the marketplace. You don't sit behind
a desk. You get out and visit your customers and you
ask them to tell you about their customers. Once you
know your customer's customer, you can better predict
the turn. I started to build up inventory, and when
the industry started to bounce back, Rockwell was the
only one who could meet demand.
What
are your thoughts about the current technology
downturn?
Recession
drives innovation. The new big thing brings technology
out of a recession. In the '70s it was the VCR, in the
'80s it was the PC.
What
will be the next drivers?
IT
and communication technology, especially Wireless LAN,
although the technologies that will change the world
haven't emerged yet. The other area to watch is the
shift from text to graphics. We haven't scratched the
surface in exploiting that yet. The video cell phone
is just the beginning.
The
other opportunity is to solve the problem of making
information more transportable. We want to carry
information with us, not hardware. One of the things I
dream about is high-density memory on a credit card
sized device with 20GB of memory, a battery, and
communications capabilities. With the right software,
you could carry the device with you, connect
wirelessly to a PC anywhere, and use your data. The
operating systems we have today aren't ready for this
concept, but we aren't that far away, the technology
is here.
Do
you notice any differences between Silicon Valley and
Orange County?
Orange
County is much more diverse. In Silicon Valley,
everything revolves around technology. Orange County
is an underserved market in terms of technology. In
Silicon Valley there were 200 VCs all trying to find
deals within a 30-mile radius of their office and that
meant that some bad deals were made. You don't have
that problem here.
I
know you are a senior partner with Sienna Ventures.
Tell me about a little about the firm.
Sienna
is a small VC firm. We've been around about 13 years
and 60-70% of our investments are in technology or
technology related companies. We want to stay
smallžabout $100MM to $200MM per fund. Right now
we're raising a $100MM Asian fund as well as a
domestic fund in the same amount that will look at
more consumer deals. We'll be adding to our East coast
staff once that fund is closed.
We're
not the first money in on a deal, but we are usually
the first professional money in.
How
involved does your firm get with your portfolio
companies?
We
are very hands on and always take board positions. As
an example, we invested in Newport Opticom. I sit on
the board and I have an office there with day-to-day
contact with the management team.
Are
you serving on any boards?
I
serve on the board of several startups along with a
public company, SBC. I was also the first person
outside of the film industry to serve on the board of
the American Film Institute. With the convergence of
film and technology, they wanted someone with a
technology background. I have a special interest in
film since my uncle was corporate controller for MGM.
It
sounds like you are pretty busy. What do you do for
fun?
I
don't play golf---never have. Aviation is my passion.
I'm a jet rated pilot and I've flown around the world.
Gil,
one last question that falls under the category of
current events. What do you think about the recent
resignation at Broadcom?
It
took me completely by surprise. I am troubled by the
fact that they never groomed a successor.
Gil,
we're glad to have you in Orange County and want to
thank you for sharing your thoughts with us today.
We'll be watching for you to take the next company out
on the racetrack and get it ready to accelerate on the
curves.
Patricia
Romboletti can be reached at Romboletti@mbsearch.net.
Gil
Amelio Gil
has three decades of technology and business
leadership experience. He has achieved a great number
of business, scientific and technological successes,
including orchestrating the turnaround of Apple
Computer. Gil has also served as the president, CEO
and chairman of National Semiconductor, and the
president of Rockwell Communication Systems, a unit of
Rockwell International. Gil is an IEEE Fellow and has
been awarded 16 patents. Gil has also been the
recipient of numerous awards including the Albert
Einstein Award for lifetime achievement in the
technology industry, the FIU Entrepreneur of the Year
Award, the Masara Ibuka Consumer Electronics Award,
and he was named "1993 Silicon Valley CEO of the
Year". Gil earned his BS, MS and PhD in physics
at the Georgia Institute of Technology. |
