The exterior of Kofax PLC’s three-story headquarters fits in nicely within the cookie-cutter corporate neighborhood of Discovery Business Center in Irvine.
But walk through the 91,000-square-foot building and the sense of bland normalcy morphs into something a bit more modern, though still minimalist. The view: open space, blended color schemes, loft-like ceilings, and row after row of sleek, wood-trimmed cubicles.
Chief Executive Reynolds Bish moved the business-software maker to its current site from another location down the road in Irvine about four years ago. Bish used the move to create a space where he could fuse his personal management style with a love of simple, contemporary design.
He wasn’t looking to make a designer magazine spread but wanted to create a productive work environment for his employees, and in the process, ditch any sense of stiff corporate hierarchy. He hired a local design firm to execute that vision.
“We wanted to have very few individual offices and for the most part to have an open work environment,” Bish said in a recent interview in his light-filled second-floor corner office.
Picture windows wrap around each floor, providing panoramic views of the Santa Ana Mountains off in the distance. Staff cubicles are configured to boost interaction, with every station equipped with a swivel chair.
Designated conference areas appear almost makeshift, with bright sofas set up on each floor in largely open spaces. The idea is to stimulate impromptu meetings and brainstorming. For more discreet meetings, the company also has more fully closed conference rooms in select locations around the building.
U.K. Listing
Kofax—which is publicly traded in London but maintains its headquarters here—makes scanning software used by businesses to streamline the flow of information, eliminate paper, speed up productivity, reduce costs and improve customer service. The company has 366 Irvine employees and 1,202 companywide.
Finance Chief Jamie Arnold, who said he enjoys the open feel of the headquarters, can view company operations wall to wall from the doorway of his second-floor office.
“It allows collaboration and for people to feel part of something while having their own privacy,” Arnold said.
Kofax offers employees free use of a company gym on an adjoining property, and it also staffs a full company cafeteria.
To create a loft-like effect in the building, standard dropped ceilings were removed on the first and second floors to expose heating and ventilation ducts.
“We wanted to make it more contemporary, forward-looking and trendy,” Bish said. “I think it creates a more interesting, more dynamic place to work.”
Spokesperson Kristin James said the company headquarters “feels a little bit cooler than your typical Irvine office” and may be more Silicon Valley than Orange County.
There’s no executive row here or management offices far removed from the rank-and-file. That’s by design, which shouldn’t come as a surprise for a company armed with software designers and engineers.
On the first floor, each in corner offices, are Lynne Scheid, senior vice president of human resources; Chief Technology Officer Anthony Macciola; and Jim Nicol, executive vice president of the products division. Their teams are located within talking distance.
“People are really spread out around the building, adjacent to most of their employees,” Bish said. “They’re not next to each other but close enough to meet face to face on a regular basis.”
The second floor also houses offices for Corporate Controller Michael Mincieli; Karl Doyle, senior vice president of corporate development; Martyn Christian, chief marketing officer; and Howard Dratler, executive vice president of field operations.
Bish believes in keeping his management team relatively close together and accessible but didn’t want to create an executive wing.
“There are companies that do that,” he said. “I don’t believe in that. I don’t think it projects the same sort of image I want to convey to people.”
Kofax marked a 5% rise in profit to $16 million from continuing business in fiscal 2012, ended June 30.
It saw an 8% rise in 12-month revenue to a company-record $262.5 million.
New Product
In October, the company launched a software product and mobile application for mortgage companies that allows lenders, brokers and borrowers to capture and extract relevant information from supporting documents and deliver it directly into loan-processing systems.
Kofax is the county’s eighth-largest software maker by revenue, according to Business Journal research.
Its largest customers include JPMorgan Chase and Co., Reuters and Allianz SE, the German parent of investment manager Pacific Investment Management Co. in Newport Beach.
Bish wants his company to reflect Southern California edge and OC’s successful software scene.
His office reflects his taste for Asian art and simple design. Two large water-color prints of terracotta warriors purchased in China adorn the walls, while two 50-year-old temple dragons acquired from a mahjong parlor sit on his glass desk, facing the door in an ode to feng shui.
“A long time ago I developed a preference of more contemporary environments, or a minimalist type of architecture,” he said. “You see that not only in my office but to some extent throughout the interior design here.”
