Platinum Software Hires Turnaround Expert
IRVINE — Less than a week after laying off 60 employees and reporting an $11-million, second-quarter loss, Platinum Software Corp. announced Monday it has appointed veteran software executive L. George Klaus as president and chief executive officer.
The firm, which has been hammered by falling sales and a host of other problems, has been searching since mid-December for a new chief executive, spokeswoman Geri Schanz said.
Klaus succeeds Carmelo J. Santoro, who remains as chairman of the board, she said. The company’s former president and chief operating officer, David Proctor, left in December.
Just last week, Santoro said customers have lost confidence in the beleaguered company because of its steep losses.
“[Santoro] felt the company needed a new leader who was more sales and marketing oriented, and George has tremendous industry experience in turning around companies and focusing on customers’ priorities,” Schanz said, adding that the company hopes to turn a profit by the summer.
Klaus is credited with generating consistent profits in his most recent position as president and chief executive of Frame Technology Corp., a San Jose company that distributes document-publishing software. After joining Frame Technology in 1993, he reportedly restructured the company, replacing several managers, cutting back operations and reducing the work force.
Before that, Klaus was chairman, president and chief executive of computer-maker Integral Systems Inc. in Maryland.
Neither Klaus nor Santoro could be reached for comment, but Santoro said in a prepared statement that the new chief executive’s skills “are ideally suited to the problems and opportunities of our company.”
Beset by disappointing sales and legal woes, the Irvine-based Platinum, which makes financial software, has struggled in recent years. To cut costs, the company laid off 100 employees last fall. Last week, with losses widening, Platinum announced the additional 60 layoffs.
After last week’s glum announcement, the company’s stock, which was selling at a high of $16.875 last June, plunged to $3.50 per share Wednesday before slightly rising late in the week. The stock closed Monday at $4.25 per share, up 12.5 cents.
Platinum, which was rocked by a bookkeeping scandal in 1993, has also been struggling to settle a shareholder lawsuit. The shareholders sued after the company admitted it had overstated revenue in 1992 and 1993 by $18 million.
Bloomberg Business News contributed to this report.
