RE:RE:RE:How much to trust? Or not?mrmoribund wrote: I think you're missing some key reasons why it was necessary that Bret Kidd take the helm from Paul Hill.
No disrespect to IRD but when ETC was bought it immediately became Quarterhill's dominant operation. (Wilan was important too but it was on the way out.)
It's asking for trouble in the form of corporate disfunction to have the ITS centre of gravity in Richardson, Texas and the central authority in Toronto. Inevitably you'll end up with disagreements and then dissatisfaction at both high and low levels in Texas. Probably you'd see Bret Kidd leaving within less than a year--and if he did you'd quite possibly see his whole team follow him. It may be that Paul's departure directly followed an ultimatum from Bret. We'll never know.
I'm pretty sure that the day ETC was bought the clock was ticking on Paul Hill. As I've said here before, it would have been different if, instead of buying ETC, Quarterhill had made a bunch more tuck-in acquisitions. If that had happened then Paul would likely still be there.
Part of Bret's challenge is keeping that same kind of alienation from creeping into IRD.
Now, if Quarterhill were a $5 billion revenues company then, sure, keep the HQ in Toronto. But ETC, the day it was bought, was much more than just a division.
Alright, so if they buy a bigger company than ETC, then they should fire Brett Kidd and put the new guy from the company they bought at the helm?
Also, Brett Kidd hasn't been that long with ETC, if I remember correctly, he was put at the helm of ETC by the previous buyer and prior to ETC, he didn't have experience in the ITS sector.
While I agree that having a separate head office with extra costs wasn't the best structure, they didn't have to address it immediately (I mean, they still have the office now). It certainly seemed rushed to me and so far for what? It's not like Brett Kidd has revolutionized anything at Quarterhill for the moment.
Now, I hope that Brett Kidd works out but I would have been more comfortable if the transition hadn't been so quick and sudden.