|
- Meyerson invests in
outsourcing adviser
He'll act as a mentor for an emerging firm
in troubled industry
12:30 AM CST on Monday, December 18, 2006
By VICTOR GODINEZ / The Dallas Morning News
Morton Meyerson is getting back into
outsourcing.
Dallas-based Alsbridge Inc. is
announcing today that Mr. Meyerson has made a multimillion-dollar investment
in the firm and is joining the company's board as a non-executive chairman.
Alsbridge doesn't do outsourcing itself, but advises
companies on picking outsourcing partners.
Mr. Meyerson said the investment gives him a
chance to solve some of the problems afflicting the outsourcing industry.
He once ran Electronic Data Systems Corp.
and Perot Systems Corp.
"So I just watched this thing grow," he
said. "It went from hundreds of thousands of dollars and into millions and
billions. But it's gotten so sluggish, and everyone is so unhappy."
Mr. Meyerson said he invested in Alsbridge
because the company's chief executive officer, Ben Trowbridge, has a plan to
alleviate the friction that often occurs when a company is displeased with
the outsourcing services it has paid for, which can be anything from payroll
processing to information technology help desk services.
Mr. Meyerson acknowledged that this investment is a
change from his previous deals.
"For me to make a commitment of multiple
millions of dollars into something that has historically been or recently
been a low-margin, low-growth area I guess is a little different," he said.
Mr. Meyerson declined to state the precise
value of his investment.
Mr. Trowbridge said that outsourcing
contracts now go almost exclusively to the lowest bidder, and that has
resulted in lower quality service and, often, higher costs than initially
expected.
"It is a mature industry for the providers,
the EDS's and the others," he said. "But we're a growing, innovative company
that helps those maturing companies change in how they work with their
clients."
Mr. Meyerson said his title – non-executive chairman –
means he won't be involved with the company's day-to-day affairs, but will
serve more as a mentor for Mr. Trowbridge. He said he'll be dealing with
"strategy, relationships, competition, Sarbanes-Oxley, issues like that,
rather than what are this month's financials, etc."
Mr. Meyerson said he decided to invest after
watching Mr. Trowbridge, who once worked at EDS, get Alsbridge off the
ground.
"He stayed with the program, and guided this
company through very tough storms and into a safe port, and I was quite
impressed with that," Mr. Meyerson said.
Alsbridge is privately held. Mr. Trowbridge
said the company will soon cross the $10 million threshold and is hiring
heavily.
Mr. Meyerson also said that his investment
isn't about generating a windfall for himself.
"I actually invest to create an economic
return that I put into our family foundation," he said. "So this is a
funding mechanism to try to stimulate in the nonprofit world good things
happening."
E-mail
vgodinez@dallasnews.com
|