If one would bring up the issue regarding the much talked-about switch of Charles Phillips Oracle’s president to ERP software specialist Infor, there would probably be a lot of ideas or judgments from different people. It is maybe because Phillips never really cleared the reason why he resigned from Oracle and accepted the CEO position at Infor just a month after he departed from his Oracle office. Infor CEO Jim Schaper is the only person who can tell what he saw in Phillips that even though he came from the competitor’s side and yet he hired him without any second thoughts. On an interview, Schaper says that he does not doubt, not even a bit, that Phillips is the perfect man to be the company’s CEO. He thinks that it was a blessing in disguise that he resigned from his presidential position exactly during the time when Infor is looking for a new COO.
Chairman Jin Schaper says that he has three valid reasons why he went after Charles Phillips and wooed him for the position. One, Phillips is a visionary to the true sense of the word. He knows that inventing and innovating is something that holds Infor back from totally flying out into the open. And with the great ideas coming from the mind of Phillips, perhaps they can turn this con into a pro. Secondly, Schaper says that he doesn’t know anyone else who is as good as Phillips when it comes to applications and software along with the management skills that he has. Phillips is a good businessman and he knows his way when it comes to managing the company’s finances and on how they can reduce the production cost and allot more funding to the marketing strategies so that they will be better known in other countries. Lastly, Phillips is a great fit for Infor because he knows how to manage the capital that will be used for the expansion through acquisitions. If there is one thing that Phillips is known for, it is because of his sudden acquisition projects that made Oracle a goldmine. With that respect, Jim Schaper has to give it to him.
In a nutshell, people can talk about how bad a decision it is to hire someone from a rival company. But the facts, statistics and realities will all lead to one thing: Charles Phillips is the best and most available executive who knows the IT industry more than anyone else. He can transform Infor into something greater if he wishes to, and with that being said, why would Infor have any reason not to risk and take a plunge?
