Back in late January, Liberum put together a list of seven companies out of a total of two hundred and thirty three CEO changes investors might consider for re-examination. One of the seven companies was Cytokinetics (CYTK -
NASDAQ) a biopharmaceutical company. The company is working on a number of drugs in early clinical testing (Phase I & II) for treating different forms of cancer and heart failure. I viewed the CEO choice with skepticism.
The new CEO, Robert I. Blum was promoted from president to the position of chief executive officer (January 22). Blum, who has been with the firm since July 1998, has steadily moved up the corporate ranks within the firm. Over the last few years and more recently, he has been instrumental in negotiating a number of collaborative arrangements on some of the key drugs the firm has been developing. Despite his positive talents, I was skeptical of the decision to make him CEO at this specific juncture in the firm's development. I found nothing in his background to indicate he was the right kind of executive for the firm as this point in time. I felt the company needed a heavy hitter from the outside, not a long-serving corporate citizen with little outside experience.
NASDAQ) a biopharmaceutical company. The company is working on a number of drugs in early clinical testing (Phase I & II) for treating different forms of cancer and heart failure. I viewed the CEO choice with skepticism.The new CEO, Robert I. Blum was promoted from president to the position of chief executive officer (January 22). Blum, who has been with the firm since July 1998, has steadily moved up the corporate ranks within the firm. Over the last few years and more recently, he has been instrumental in negotiating a number of collaborative arrangements on some of the key drugs the firm has been developing. Despite his positive talents, I was skeptical of the decision to make him CEO at this specific juncture in the firm's development. I found nothing in his background to indicate he was the right kind of executive for the firm as this point in time. I felt the company needed a heavy hitter from the outside, not a long-serving corporate citizen with little outside experience.
As you can see, the market has not been impressed so far either.
No comments:
Post a Comment