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Founder's Day
Jun. 29th, 2004 08:42 amHappy birthday Larry (![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
lfkbear)! I can hear you this morning.
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Yesterday I went to the company's anniversary luncheon, as my fifth anniversary with the company was earlier this year. There were quite a few others, from all parts of the company. I sat with a bunch of suited guys from the investments department, as I was in my usual polo and un-ironed dockers.
There was chicken, some cookie that had the company logo on it - and was hard as a rock. There was also a glass of champaign at every seat, and as people tasted it, it was probably as old as the cookie. The Director of Equity Investments remarked that they must have been bought at the same place. When one of the cofounders of the company (more of a figurehead than anything else, now) suggested we raise our glasses in a toast, there was an audible groan as we realized we'd have to drink more of this stuff.
The true founder of the company passed away early yesterday morning, so the cofounders, two guys the actual founder picked from his former company to do the grunt work as the company formed more than 25 years ago, talked about him for a short bit. These guys did pretty well, and are now millionaires several times over. certainly it was being in the right place, at the right time. Still, when they were tapped to run the company after the corporate merger, and when the founder retired, it didn't work, and now we have an outside man as CEO.
As for our late founder, he was a good man. He retired at the end of 2000, but you'd still see him tottering around the building doing something, from time to time. He was 84 years old. His underlings are much younger, as was his, presumably second, wife. I still remember the talking points we has when his wife, who is certifiably insane, got away from her handlers and was missing for a few days. There was all sorts of things we could, and couldn't say to the shareholders. Very strange.
I guess she won't directly inherit the fortune. I know that the founder set up a charitable foundation that will live on for some time, and the business school at the University of Houston is better off because of him (and now bears his name. He took care of his people, that was for sure, and those days were much better than today, where we're a publicly traded corporation.
Still, his favorite line was "People are the Product". He meant well, but that line kept me thinking of the old Twilight Zone episode, "To Serve Man."
lfkbear)! I can hear you this morning.--------------------------------------------------------------
Yesterday I went to the company's anniversary luncheon, as my fifth anniversary with the company was earlier this year. There were quite a few others, from all parts of the company. I sat with a bunch of suited guys from the investments department, as I was in my usual polo and un-ironed dockers.
There was chicken, some cookie that had the company logo on it - and was hard as a rock. There was also a glass of champaign at every seat, and as people tasted it, it was probably as old as the cookie. The Director of Equity Investments remarked that they must have been bought at the same place. When one of the cofounders of the company (more of a figurehead than anything else, now) suggested we raise our glasses in a toast, there was an audible groan as we realized we'd have to drink more of this stuff.
The true founder of the company passed away early yesterday morning, so the cofounders, two guys the actual founder picked from his former company to do the grunt work as the company formed more than 25 years ago, talked about him for a short bit. These guys did pretty well, and are now millionaires several times over. certainly it was being in the right place, at the right time. Still, when they were tapped to run the company after the corporate merger, and when the founder retired, it didn't work, and now we have an outside man as CEO.
As for our late founder, he was a good man. He retired at the end of 2000, but you'd still see him tottering around the building doing something, from time to time. He was 84 years old. His underlings are much younger, as was his, presumably second, wife. I still remember the talking points we has when his wife, who is certifiably insane, got away from her handlers and was missing for a few days. There was all sorts of things we could, and couldn't say to the shareholders. Very strange.
I guess she won't directly inherit the fortune. I know that the founder set up a charitable foundation that will live on for some time, and the business school at the University of Houston is better off because of him (and now bears his name. He took care of his people, that was for sure, and those days were much better than today, where we're a publicly traded corporation.
Still, his favorite line was "People are the Product". He meant well, but that line kept me thinking of the old Twilight Zone episode, "To Serve Man."
