Staff Shifts At Teknekron, Customer Support Reorgs

Reuters' subsidiary Teknekron Software Systems Inc. has seen a burst of personnel changes recently. Three senior staff took their leave in recent weeks. Separately, the vendor has shifted the responsibilities of others in its customer support organization.

Amal Chaudhuri, Teknekron's division manager for consulting services, along with Jo Mei Chang and Dale Skeen, both executives in the vendor's non-financial services unit, have all left Teknekron. Chaudhuri has taken a post at Bankers Trust Co. The next career stops for Chang, who was a vice president and general manager, and Skeen, who was vice president of research and chief scientist, could not be determined at press time. The three could not be reached for comment.

The flurry of senior-level departures raises questions as to Teknekron's ability to hold onto its staff following its purchase by Reuters for $125 million (TST, Jan. 10).

Says Teknekron senior vice president Norm Seigler: "Does a company that has had a significant financial event worry about how to hold on to its people? Of course we worry." However, he continues, "There's not been any evidence that those programs [designed to encourage staff to remain] have not been effective." He wouldn't comment on the reasons for the three executives' flight.

According to the vendor's chief financial officer, David Rice, part of Teknekron's strategy for keeping its staff involves vesting them as company owners over time. The plan entitles the Tekkies to a gradually increasing share in the growth of Teknekron profits, says Rice. Those who leave lose the right to share in the up-side of growth, he says.

As Teknekron's strategy -- and corporate culture -- evolve in the wake of the sale, the incentive plans it put in place to retain its staff will be put to the test.

Among the vendor's newest initiatives is to shore up and expand its global customer support organization. Teknekron has given more day-to-day responsibility for client support to Ian Hobson, who was formerly director of European client technical services. Hobson becomes vice president of client technical services operations, which he will run from London.

Previously, Robert Rector was head of Teknekron's global customer support group, based at the vendor's Palo Alto, Calif. head office. Rector will continue to have oversight of the group, but will expand the scope of his duties to include more strategic planning. His title changes from vice president, client technical services to senior vice president, client technical services.

Meanwhile, the vendor has also made plans to deploy a global wide area network to allow it to monitor customers' problems and track bugs remotely.

The vendor's support aspirations include hiring service staff to work at its Palo Alto office. Rector says that client technical services "within the next nine to 12 months will increase by better than 50 percent." He declines to cite the number of staffers now contained by the group, but claims it is Teknekron's single largest department.

It's unclear whether Teknekron's newfound enthusiasm for customer support is a by-product of the vendor's purchase by Reuters; Reuters itself is fond of trumpeting the importance of customer support.