It wouldn’t be surprising if sun-loving former Californians are warm to a move south from the rainy Pacific Northwest.
That’s true for Scott Poteracki, who recently said he’s leaving his post as chief financial officer of Seattle supercomputer maker Cray Inc. to take the same post at Tustin-based MTI Technology Corp.
“I have greatly enjoyed my time at Cray, and this is one of the hardest decisions I have ever made,” Poteracki said. “Cray plays a special role in high performance computing, and I am enthusiastic about the company’s future. However, my family and I have a strong personal desire to return to California, and we are excited about the opportunity at MTI.”
Poteracki knows Orange County well. He once was chief financial officer for Irvine-based Racal Instruments Inc. (recently bought by European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co.) and had a stint as corporate controller and senior director of finance for Irvine-based Broadcom Corp.
“Scott’s extensive knowledge of the technology sector and proven fiscal experience make him exceptionally qualified to implement MTI’s strategic business roadmap,” said Tom Raimondi, MTI’s chief executive. “As MTI continues on a path of fast track growth, Scott will help guide the company’s re-emergence into the financial community spotlight.”
Poteracki joins a company on a turnaround bid.
In July, Hopkinton, Mass.-based EMC Corp. invested $4 million in MTI as part of a $15 million funding led by Boston-based private equity investor Advent International Inc. The company is using the funds, in part, to boost its sales staff.
MTI used to make storage devices that competed with those from much larger EMC. But early last year the company threw in the towel and became a reseller of EMC gear.
Originally a business with a strong engineering focus, MTI made products based on a type of storage called redundant independent disk arrays, or RAID. In 1996, MTI sold a set of RAID patents to EMC for $40 million.
During the technology boom, MTI counted a market value several times its current $62 million. But then came the tech bust, patent disputes with EMC and stepped-up competition for storage devices.
In 2002, the company laid off 70 people when it moved production from Anaheim to Dublin, Ireland. The company also combined European production in Ireland.
Early last year, MTI moved its headquarters from Anaheim to a smaller space in Tustin as part of an ongoing effort to pare costs.
The company posted an operating loss of $1.7 million in the quarter ended July 3, versus a loss of $2.5 million a year earlier. Revenue jumped 46% to $26 million in the period.
Funding for Tracker
Irvine-based Networks In Motion Inc. recently closed a venture funding round worth $5 million.
Menlo Park-based Redpoint Ventures and San Diego-based Mission Ventures led the round, which is Networks In Motion’s second.
The company said it plans to use the money to hire more staff to sell its key product,navigation and tracking software for wireless phones. The software works with global positioning system satellites.
One of the company’s products, AtlasTrack, allows businesses to watch employees’ movements when they’re out in the field. That could be a good fit for messengers, cable TV companies and other businesses that have staff working out of the office.
“We were extremely impressed with all aspects of Networks In Motion,from the passionate management team to the clients who provided strong references for their products and services,” said Brad Jones, a Redpoint Ventures partner.
It’s unclear how big the market for the company’s software could be. Networks In Motion cites numbers from market tracker International Data Corp., which says the market for mobile software will exceed $1.6 billion by 2006.
Of course, there’s a lot of other software for mobile computing and wireless phones that also is grouped into that figure. Even so, Networks In Motion is a company worth watching.
InXile on Display
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Scene from “The Bard’s Tale”: first game for InXile Entertainment |
We’re finally going to see the fruit from the long-running saga that is Brian Fargo, chief executive of InXile Entertainment Corp.
The Newport Beach-based video game company recently shipped its first video game, “The Bard’s Tale,” to North American stores.
The game, adapted for Sony’s PlayStation 2, has players taking on the role of a Bard (a traveling minstrel) who has adventures as he pursues various quests. It already has received accolades from video game reviewers.
Fargo has a long history in the video game business.
Founder and former chief executive of Irvine-based Interplay Entertainment Corp., Fargo oversaw production of hits such as the “Baldur’s Gate” series and “The Bard’s Tale” series.
Fargo led Interplay’s 1995 buy of Laguna Beach’s Shiny Entertainment Inc., a maker of console games such as “Earthworm Jim.” The deal made Interplay a player in the personal computer and console markets.
In 2001, Fargo was ousted from Interplay after France’s Titus Interactive SA took a majority stake in the company. The “InXile” name for his new company is a slight dig at Interplay.
Meanwhile, Fargo could be working on another former Interplay title. Earlier this year, Fargo bought the rights to “Wasteland,” a cult-classic game Fargo created in the 1980s at Interplay.
