The last few weeks have been very tough the loss of my brother Don Ruiz. Over the past week my brother Chris, and my two sisters have thought hard about the direction of Gene One. We have prepared a summary of the qualification of the four candidates below is our analysis of the candidates qualification and justification for why we think they should be the choice of the board as the new CEO. Also we have talked about how this change should be managed along with the ongoing changes associated with initial public offering.
Recommendations
Greg Thoman
Greg Thoman is currently the CHRO at Gene One and has been with the company for six years. Prior to joining Gene One he worked for eight years at a consulting firm. These two positions are the entire work experience Greg has based on his current age. He has done a great deal of recruiting and has had many successes in finding talent in the market. He continues to play an active role in recruiting even as the CHRO based on a conversation in which he states he is currently interviewing a candidate. As CHRO these types of tasks should be delegated to a Recruiter who is a subordinate. He should only be involved in basic recruiting functions for high level positions or in a final interview along with the hiring manager. He is people oriented and very concerned with the change in the existing culture with a company changing from private to public hands. He has also stressed the importance of communicating that change to the employees. As employees (and the media) have already become aware of upcoming changes it is important for communication to occur as soon as possible. He does not appear to have a personal interest in the firm as he was not a founding member and does not have a financial stake in the company. He is somebody that should definitely be utilized during the change but not somebody that I believe will play a key role in planning and executing the IPO undertaking.
While Don Ruiz was clearly...