SHORT TAKES

3COM CHIEF EXECUTIVE RESIGNS

San Diego, CALIF. — Wylie Wong reports that 3Com chief executive Eric Benhamou has resigned from the network equipment company. Current president and chief operating officer Bruce Claflin has taken over as chief executive. Benhamou remains as chairman. A 3Com spokesman said Benhamou decided to retire after 10 years of running the company. “He made a 10-year commitment, and he fullfilled that commitment. It was his idea to retire,” a 3Com spokesman said. “Claflin has been very busy and has played a key role in setting the strategic direction of the company. This is the right time…” 3Com, once a major force in networking, has struggled financially the past two years amid an exploding networking market. With Benhamou at the helm, 3Com has faced stagnant revenue growth, while long-time rivals Cisco Systems, Nortel Networks and emerging networking companies, such as Juniper Networks, Foundry Networks and Extreme Networks, have seen their profits skyrocket. Claflin, who joined 3Com in 1998, is a former senior vice president of sales and marketing at Digital and held senior management positions at IBM, including leading IBM’s product management efforts for its PC business.

After two years of flip-flopping its business strategy, 3Com in March announced a major reorganization intended to turn the company’s fortune’s around. Last Tuesday, 3Com reported first-quarter sales that beat forecasts and a smaller-than-expected loss. 3Com executives expect the company will be profitable early next year. Over the past year, 3Com has spun off Palm, shed its slow-growing analog modem business, and killed off its networking equipment arm for large businesses. The company now caters to small and midsized businesses and consumers, two markets the company has historically dominated. The company is also selling software and equipment to service providers and focusing on emerging markets, such as high-speed modems, wireless and home networking and Internet telephony.

REED NAMED NCSA DIRECTOR

Champaign, IL. — The National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the National Computational Science Alliance (Alliance) completed their leadership transition in September when Alliance Director Dan Reed was appointed director of NCSA by the UI Board of Trustees. Reed has been head of the Alliance since March. With his new title at NCSA he takes on a dual directorship role, providing strategic direction to both NCSA and the Alliance partnership of more than 50 institutions. Read also heads the UI computer science department and was co-leader of the Alliance’s Enabling Technologies teams for three years. “Director of NCSA is not a title that I take lightly,” said Reed. “NCSA has a long tradition of innovation and of being an exciting place to work, and I hope that tradition will continue under my leadership. We are entering an era in which advances in computing and its applications are transforming not only science but all of society. I am delighted to have the opportunity to help shape that future.” Jim Bottum remains executive director of NCSA and is responsible for day-to-day operations of the center. Bottum was named executive director in March, and had been NCSA’s deputy director since 1987 and an Alliance deputy director since 1997.

In addition Richard Crutcher, a UI professor of astronomy and chair of that department, was recently named a new member of the NCSA and Alliance senior management team. Crutcher is NCSA’s first chief application scientist, and will focus on the long-term strategic development scientific efforts at the center and within the Alliance. Crutcher leads the Alliance’s Radio Astronomy Imaging team and is a member of the consortium that develops AIPS++, a radio astronomy software toolkit. He is also a member of the Alliance’s Executive Committee. As chief application scientist, Crutcher will oversee NCSA and Alliance Application Technologies teams, assist in organizing national projects within NCSA and the Alliance, and develop new scientific partnerships. Application Technologies teams are charged with laying the foundation for tomorrow’s computational science and engineering. They work with computer scientists and with application scientists around the country to define and implement research on the Grid, an efficient and persistent computing infrastructure that gives researchers remote access to Alliance resources regardless of physical location. “This is a very exciting opportunity for me,” Crutcher said. “I look forward to the broader challenges that being chief application scientist will offer. The scope of our endeavors is extraordinary. The task of moving them forward both individually and as they apply to the Grid will be incredible.”

The National Center for Supercomputing Applications is the leading-edge site for the National Computational Science Alliance. NCSA is a leader in the development and deployment of cutting-edge high-performance computing, networking, and information technologies. The National Science Foundation, the state of Illinois, the University of Illinois, industrial partners, and other federal agencies fund NCSA. The National Computational Science Alliance is a partnership to prototype an advanced computational infrastructure for the 21st century and includes more than 50 academic, government and industry research partners from across the United States. The Alliance is one of two partnerships funded by the National Science Foundation’s Partnerships for Advanced Computational Infrastructure (PACI) program, and receives cost-sharing at partner institutions. NSF also supports the National Partnership for Advanced Computational Infrastructure (NPACI), led by the San Diego Supercomputer Center.

QUANTUM/ATL ANNOUNCES KEY APPOINTMENTS

Irvine, CALIF. — Quantum/ATL, a unit of Quantum’s DLT and Storage Systems Group and a leading supplier of intelligent DLTtape automation for networked computers, announced the appointment of Richard Collins as European managing director. Reporting to Collins are newly appointed Northern European Regional Director Charles McGregor, and European Distribution Director of Sales Bernard Chanliau. With headquarters for Europe, Middle East and Africa in the United Kingdom, ATL recognizes the importance of investing in personnel for growth worldwide and these senior appointments reflect the company’s successful strategy for sales growth across Europe.

“ATL’s European business is growing at a significant rate. To augment the company’s success in this demanding market, we must hire the most qualified candidates available,” said Neal Waddington, chief operating officer of ATL. “Our new European directors demonstrate ATL’s commitment to backing our products and services with the most experienced, skilled and driven people in the industry. With these new people on board, our European operation is well placed to continue its command of the DLTtape library sector.” Collins, has an impressive track record that includes building significant sales, partnerships and strategic alliances for Sequent Computer Systems, where he most recently held the position of sales director. As Sequent’s business director, Collins was responsible for creating and driving aggressive growth plans, which created significant revenue streams for the company across the Europe/Middle East/Africa regions. His previous experience also includes senior positions at ICL and Technology plc. McGregor, with more than 20 years in the IT industry, comes from California-based NAS provider Auspex Systems, where he achieved major sales success among Fortune 500 companies within the U.K. Chanliau was previously a regional manager for Tektronix Europe, where he built significant business in central and eastern Europe. “Richard Collins’ experience and management capability position him well to lead our sales, service and marketing efforts in the European marketplace,” said Waddington. “Charles McGregor and Bernard Chanliau will make a strong contribution to the team as well.”

MAXOPTIX APPOINTS FRED BEDARD

Fremont, CALIF. — Maxoptix Corporation ( http://www.maxoptix.com ), a leader in optical data-storage technology, announced that it has appointed Fred Bedard as its senior vice president of worldwide sales and marketing. Bedard brings more than 23 years of computer storage sales and marketing experience to Maxoptix. In his new position, he will head all sales and marketing programs at Maxoptix and will oversee all sales and marketing personnel, as well as the company’s public relations and advertising firm. “Fred is a key addition to our management team and we are very pleased to have him with us,” said Gary Potts, Maxoptix president and CEO. “As senior vice president of sales and marketing, Fred will spearhead our new product launches, expand our strategic partnerships and programs and lead aggressive advertising and public relations campaigns.”

“My position at Maxoptix provides me with an unbeatable opportunity,” stated Bedard. “Maxoptix is a quality company with a strong management team. The company has demonstrated its potential by garnering $16 million in its second round of venture-capital financing. This recent equity-capital infusion is earmarked for the development and launch of new products based on the company’s Optical Super Density (OSD) technology. I look forward to participating in an exciting era for Maxoptix.” Bedard is an industry veteran. Over a 19-year period, he held several key sales and marketing positions at Data General Corporation, culminating in his job as director of storage and I/O marketing. Immediately prior to joining Maxoptix, Bedard was the vice president of sales and marketing for Ultera Systems, a tape RAID controller manufacturer. Before that, he was the general manager and division director of the Integrated Storage Products Division at Sony Electronics. Bedard is an electrical engineering graduate of Wentworth Institute in Boston, Mass.

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