| Dear Mr. DeBry: I am a relatively long-time shareholder of Gentner
Communications Corp and really enjoyed your recent report on it. Since you request readers
to add their comments I will do so.
As a shareholder I have been closely monitoring developments in Gentner for the past
few years. I wholeheartedly concur with your depiction of the situation at Gentner during
most of Russ Gentner's reign. However, things began to change for the better when Ms.
Flood came aboard in the capacity of Vice President--Sales & Marketing. In a
relatively short time the structural and cultural changes she created and implemented
began to bear fruit in the form of increased sales. But, alas, these improvements turned
out to be relatively minor compared to what she was able to do upon becoming President
& CEO. In addition to the enormous contributions you cited, I would to add a few
additional ones.
***Ms.Flood has aggresively sought out companies with which Gentner could develop
synergistic, mutually beneficial relationships. Doing so allows Gentner to leverage its
state of the art technology to the fullest. It also serves to increase Gentner's
visibility to both potential and current customers. Too, it functions to open new
distribution channels for the company's products & services. Examples: the
relatinships developed with: Broadband Associates, Teletraining Institute and Digital
Xpress.
***Since becoming Pres./CEO Ms. Flood has directed the RD department to refine, modify,
and improve several of Gentner's products so that they would have an even greater appeal
to potential and current customers. These RD initiatives have been focused and customer
driven.
***Ms. Flood has made the the personnel structure similar to that of major
corporations; e.g. making the extremely competent Ms. Strohm the CFO and attaching the
title of V.P. to key management personnel.
***While adhering to the wise philosophy: improve the bottom lines and the price of the
shares will follow, she has been able to attract institutional support for the company;
example: investments made in the company by: Kennedy Capital Management and by the Watson
Investment Group. This is noteworthy since most such institutions eschew companies with
relatively small market caps.
***Ms. Flood has the unique gift of perceiving what some may see as "threats"
as "opportunities."Examples: entering the VideoConferencing Field by teaming up
with RSI and seeing the Internet as an attractive avenue to incorporate Gentner's audio
expertise.
My real estate friends say the three most important factors to consider in buying real
estate is: 1. Location. 2. Location. 3 Location. Similarly, some investment analysts give
the same degree of importance to management. Fran Flood is proving in an awesome way that
they are correct.
Thanks for requesting my input and for "listening." |
