interview mit McGuire.interassant ist, "ubernahame ist nicht
unmöglich".leider in english!
::Face To Face
Face to Face: Cyril McGuire, CEO
Trintech
Monday, June 24 2002
by Matthew Clark
in association with
Visit the D & T Web Site
Send story to a friend
Print this story
At its height, Irish payment security company Trintech was
valued at around USD4.5 billion and its sibling founders Cyril
and John McGuire were worth USD650 million apiece. Since
those heady days the company`s shares have lost 99.5
percent of their value and a recent four for one split did little
to boost prices. Trintech`s new CEO Cyril McGuire talks Face to
Face with Matthew Clark about the firm`s past and future.
ENN: At one stage your net
worth was estimated to be
around USD650 million and
you had become one of the
most recognised business
leaders in Ireland and
internationally. Since that
time, do you feel you have
been treated fairly by the
Irish media? Do you feel they
relished seeing the value of
Trintech drop and your
personal value fall?
McGuire: I don`t want to
comment on whether the
press are good or bad, but I
think it`s very much an Irish
phenomenon. They pump you up and then they get a lot of
thrill pulling you down equally so. You`ve got to take the rolls,
you`ve got to take the down with the up.
All I would say is that what you never had, you don`t miss.
The reality is I am a very practical down to earth
businessperson. At the end of the day I want to build a
company that I`m proud of. I`ve spent 15 years building
Trintech and I don`t intend to give up now.
Personal gain is a secondary objective. It`s important, but the
thrill I get is building something that I can be proud of and
building value for shareholders. I happen to be a key
shareholder, so I have got skin in the game in that regard.
ENN: Recently, it was reported that buildings in which
Trintech operates are owned by you and your brother and
that you were charging the company over EUR1 million in
rent. Would you care to respond to that? Do you feel like
it`s fair to charge that when the company seems to be
struggling?
McGuire: All I would say is that Trintech is a technology
company. It`s not in the property business. It would be a poor
use of shareholders` funds to use them for property purposes.
Trintech is indeed the tenant and myself and my brother John
are the landlords but that is very much a commercial
transaction.
What I can say is that the transaction at the time was done
with two independent leading surveyors and property
consultants. And it was approved by the board and sanctioned
by the board, so it was very much above board in every
respect.
ENN: What do you think is the perception of Trintech
among investors and among the industry at large?
McGuire: I think Trintech is facing the same kind of difficulty a
lot of IT companies are facing, it is an extremely difficult IT
environment. As a company and as a management team we
are very focused on right sizing the operation and returning to
profitability as quickly as possible.
The guidance we are giving is that we will have returned to
profitability by the end of this fiscal year. We are obviously
taking the necessary actions to make sure this takes place.
ENN: What things would you have done differently over
the last year? Have you made any mistakes that you
regret?
McGuire: In term of mistakes, all I would say is that I think it
was appropriate to make some changes at the management
level because a management team operating in an
expansionist phase needed certain skill sets and
characteristics. However, the management team operating in
a downturn or more recessionary times requires certainly
different skill sets, and I think those changes in my
management team reflect those requirements.
ENN: What are some of the management changes that
you have made that you think are particularly important?
McGuire: I think just in general what I am looking to do is
move the whole focus from being very technology focused to
be more customer focused. That`s not to say we haven`t been
customer focused in the past; but I am a non-technologist, to
give you an idea, whereas, the previous CEO (John McGuire)
was. I don`t get caught up in the emotion of technology.
ENN: When you took over as CEO three months ago, was
the decision made as an agreement between both you
and John? Was it a decision the entire board agreed on?
McGuire: It was a complete board decision and we are just
members of the board. It was unanimously agreed. John is
still a part of the management team and John`s strengths are
clearly in technology and that`s what he`s doing now, forging
new strategic alliances and partnerships around the world.
ENN: Do you feel like the payment security market in
general has collapsed?
McGuire: I wouldn`t say it`s collapsed. It`s consolidating like
every other segment of the IT market, it`s no different in that
regard.
There will be a shakeout and I think, with our very strong
balance sheet with over USD50 million (in cash reserves) and
no debt, we will certainly be a major player. And you know,
frankly, I quite welcome these times, because in many ways
leaders can be created in these difficult markets.
ENN: There are a few reports that say Trintech could be a
target for acquisition. Are the reports accurate?
McGuire: Well, there`s obviously no plan but at the end of the
day, in the current market, one has to keep an open mind.
But at this particular point in time our management team is
very focused on getting this company back on track, back to
profitability, and once we have done that we will be in a very
strong position. We have all the ingredients for success and
profitable growth... what we now need is to basically execute.
