His approval ratings have slipped,could he be leaving his job soon?
No, I’m not talking about President Bush. I’m talking about Alan “Lanny” Ross, chief executive of Irvine chipmaker Broadcom Corp.
That’s according to Forbes, which has been tracking public opinion through a nifty new feature that allows readers of its Web site to vote on how a chief executive is performing.
Mind you, Ross is the most popular executive on the Forbes site, besting Intel Corp.’s Craig Barrett and Richard Templeton of Texas Instruments Inc.
But Ross’ approval rates have come down in recent months. So far in October, 53% of people responding to the survey approved of Ross’ performance, down from a yearlong peak of 79% in March. Other chip bosses also have seen their approval rates slip. You could blame it on the slowing chip market.
A caveat is in order: The poll is decidedly unscientific and isn’t an accurate measure of public opinion.
And it’s worth noting that Ross’ approval ratings on the Forbes site don’t necessarily track the performance of Broadcom’s stock. While the peak for Ross’ approval occurred in March, the company’s recent market value actually peaked in July at $12.1 billion. The company’s value since has fallen to $7.7 billion.
Still, it’s interesting to note the movement in Ross’s ratings against what was happening at the time.
In March, when Ross’s ratings peaked, the company had posted its first profitable quarter in three years.
Plus, Broadcom established a new compensation program for Ross that could net him close to $6 million if he stays until a new chief executive is hired.
Ross’ ratings fell to 69% in June, right about the time Broadcom was making its sixth acquisition for the year,San Diego-based wireless phone chip designer Zyray Wireless Inc. for about $98 million in stock. Then July’s ratings bounced back up to 77% in July, a month when Broadcom beat quarterly sales forecasts for the second quarter,causing Broadcom’s market value to rise.
But a report by Credit Suisse First Boston, saying that Broadcom’s sales in three key markets were weaker than expectations, brought it all crashing down. August approval ratings slipped to a still strong 65% as the stock fell 23% from July 31 to Aug. 31.
Of course, none of Broadcom’s bad news really means bad news for Ross. His work at the company since taking over in early 2003 was a godsend for Broadcom. Even with the recent declines, Ross has doubled the returns for shareholders since he’s been in office.
But Ross makes no secret of his desire to leave and retire. Ross, 69, has had some health issues in the past couple of years. The company disclosed earlier this year that he had undergone heart bypass surgery. Two years ago, he had hip surgery.
Broadcom reportedly has hired Chicago-based executive searcher Heidrick & Struggles International Inc. in what could be a sign the chipmaker is stepping up its efforts, according to one source.
DMarc Update
Newport Beach-based DMarc Broad-casting Inc. has made a couple moves in the past month,an acquisition and an initiative to speed adoption of its radio technology.
The company acquired Dallas-based Scott Studios and Computer Concepts, a company that makes software used in radio stations. It enables radio signals to carry data as well. The companies didn’t disclose the value of the deal, but said it includes a $10 million investment into DMarc.
DMarc’s content is broadcast over a subcarrier system,the 20% of a broadcaster’s frequency that is unused.
The venture is the third major one for brothers Ryan and Chad Steelberg in the past decade. The two founded Costa Mesa-based AdForce Inc. in 1995, an Internet advertising company that allowed advertisers to target marketing messages to a specific audience.
The duo started high-speed Internet service provider Winfire Inc. in 2000, which went out of business.
The Steelbergs estimate that 75% of new cars support DMarc’s radio display system.
DMarc also launched a new initiative to sell the Scott Studios software at radio stations it wants to include in its networks.
Blizzard Wins Case
Irvine-based Blizzard Entertainment, a unit of Vivendi Universal SA, won a case in federal court in St. Louis against an upstart Internet service operation run out of the basement of the owner’s home there.
The lawsuit, which was filed in 2002, says that Tim Jung, who owns Internet Gateway Inc. in St. Louis, wrote software that allowed two or more players of Blizzard’s games to play simultaneously with each other on the Internet.
Blizzard runs its own paid service,called Battle.net,that allows gamers to play its games. But Jung told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that the service was slow and riddled with flaws. So he developed his own.
The judge said that by reverse engineering Blizzard software, creating servers that emulated Battle.net and providing matchmaking services for users of Blizzard software, Jung violated terms of an agreement that comes with the software.
