Highly-experienced executive, spanning startups to public companies. Has held key roles in management, sales, marketing, product management and services. Specializes in product strategy, operations, business model and board interactions.
I worked for John as a Tech Rep in Rational UK from 1992 to 1998. John commanded total respect from the whole of the technical team for his managerial, technical and customer facing capabilities. He was instrumental in building a culture within Rational UK which made it an absolutely outstanding place to work.
Briefly, John is a CEO who gets it done. He was brought in to transform a struggling start-up into a successful exit. He executed on that brilliantly. The most notable skills (notable by me) were; -Focus: especially in a start-up, and more so in one with real potential, keeping the organization focus on the goals most likely to result in success is a significant challenge. John kept the teams directed towards success, making the hard decisions. -Empowerment: John repeatedly pushed decisions and authority downwards, making his teams more effective in setting and executing against their goals. In a small environment, it is far too easy to keep power and information in one place. John was exceptionally diligent in ensuring that did not happen.
Beyond the simple successful execution, he is also adept at fostering a strong and positive culture. At Virtutech, our success in exiting was exceptionally bitter-sweet as the environment was extremely positive, and the staff was universally sad to give that up.. I would work for John again in a heartbeat.
