A New Chapter
As many of you have heard by now, I will be the interim CEO of Enterasys in addition to my role as Senior Managing Director of The Gores Group and Chairman of the Enterasys Board of Directors. Although it is under grave circumstances that such a decision needed to be made, I am honored to serve Enterasys customers, partners, and employees as interim CEO.
Mike Fabiaschi’s untimely passing leaves all of us at Enterasys and Gores deeply saddened. Mike led Enterasys and other technology companies with a passion for driving customer-centric changes and sales skill leadership. He put his heart and his mind into every effort in both his personal and professional life. Mike leaves a remarkable legacy that his business associates and friends will benefit from for years to come. I can assure you that his customer-centric philosophy will continue to drive Enterasys forward.
I know Mike would have been as delighted as I am to share with you the news that The Gores Group and Siemens, AG have completed the joint venture transaction – opening up a new chapter in Enterasys’ 25-year history. The joint venture began operations on 1 October 2008 as a multi-billion dollar provider of hardware, software, and services to deliver service-oriented networks that enable voice, video, and data service-oriented applications in a mobile and secure manner. Gores and Siemens plan to invest at least €350 million in the joint venture in order to launch innovative new products, acquire other technology platforms, and further drive the expansion of the business.
The newly-created joint venture has also announced the appointment of James R. O’Neill, a 30-year technology industry veteran, as its new chief executive officer. A native of Ireland who became an American citizen in 1976, O’Neill, 54, has extensive international executive management experience with an emphasis on networks and electronics, as well as large system integration, communications, and computer technology. He most recently served as CEO of CompuDyne Corporation, a leading provider of products and services to the public security market. CompuDyne is also owned by The Gores Group.
Mike leaves a remarkable legacy that his business associates and friends will benefit from for years to come. I can assure you that his customer-centric philosophy will continue to drive Enterasys forward.
Enterasys will continue to operate in a business as usual manner. Therefore, expect no changes to the engineering, professional services, sales, solution engineering, support, and training resources you work with every day. No changes are anticipated to the development, support, marketing, or selling of particular Enterasys products – in fact, we envision an acceleration and broader awareness of the Enterasys convergence, compliance, and connectivity solutions. We remain committed to investing in research and development to deliver new products. Service, maintenance, and support contract terms remain unchanged. We will keep you informed of any new developments as they occur.
I would like to provide you with some insight into the rationale behind the joint venture. One of the most important factors was the operational experience and expertise that Gores offers. Gores portfolio companies innovate and operate within the telecommunications sectors for both IP-based and traditional TDM-based voice communications across wired, wireless, broadband, and satellite infrastructure. This proven track-record in technology and communications, combined with operational experience in EMEA, an emphasis placed on customer and partner satisfaction, and a long-term commitment to grow the business profitably sets this joint venture up with a foundation for success.
From a technology perspective, the combination of Siemens Enterprise Communications, Enterasys, and SER Solutions, Inc., results in virtually no technology overlap. Combining the three companies will unify voice, data, and contact center communications and secure wired and wireless networks. All three companies have a shared commitment to standards-based, open-architecture interoperability, and Enterasys and Siemens voice solutions have been integrated with each other for over a decade.
The joint venture also specifically addresses what have been Enterasys’ primary challenges for growth – the necessary scale and brand awareness. Siemens solves this problem by bringing to the table multi-billion dollar revenues and recognition as one of the top 50 brands in the world. There are no plans to discontinue the Enterasys product brand.
Though it is undeniable that these are times of change at Enterasys, I can assure you that the principles that guided Enterasys under Mike’s leadership will not change: commitment to the success of our customers, a clear intent to grow the business, listening to individual customer concerns and addressing them, commitment to communicate as openly and as frequently as possible, and standing by the company mantra – “There is nothing more important than our customers”.
I want to thank you for your continued support during these times of change at Enterasys. I look forward to writing this new chapter with you.
Sincerely,
Mark Stone
Chairman of the Board and Interim CEO
Enterasys Secure Networks