TiVo CFO Resigns

[HDTiVo]

Holy Cow! What a surprise.

http://investor.tivo.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=250586


http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118248323402844555.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

http://www.reuters.com/article/industryNews/idUSWEN892420070622

[MickeS]

Not even a year after he was hired, no less.

"the Company is commencing an executive search for a new chief financial officer."

Well, good luck.

[HDTiVo]

I am just sitting here stunned. Mouth hanging open. Weak feeling through most of my body. What a shock. Gotta breathe. Remember to breathe.

[MediaLivingRoom]

yeah, maybe he was behind all those price changes..... Let's get back to one price at $6.95 per month for all units. keep it simple.

[MickeS]

yeah, maybe he was behind all those price changes..... Let's get back to one price at $6.95 per month for all units. keep it simple.
And non-profit?

[c3]

"Resignation" has two different meanings. Did he resign, or was he kicked out?

[bicker]

The position he's heading for sounds like a rather good one, so I suspect this was an offer he couldn't turn down.

[HDTiVo]

And non-profit?
Not for profit. :p

[HDTiVo]

"Resignation" has two different meanings. Did he resign, or was he kicked out?
Questions like...

Why did he take the job in the first place?

Who would hire him with TiVo on his resume? :eek:

Why the new employer is not disclosed?

Why didn't he leave to spend more time with his family? ;)

Did he resign because he's been reading my posts? :confused:

[HDTiVo]

TiVo's 8K dated 6/22/07 states:

ITEM 5.02. Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers.

(b) On June 18, 2007, Steven Sordello, the Company’s Chief Financial Officer, tendered his resignation. Mr. Sordello is assisting in the transition of his duties and the effective date of his resignation has not yet been determined.

(bold added)


The Press Release came out about 9pm ET 6/21.

[ZeoTiVo]

I am just sitting here stunned. Mouth hanging open. Weak feeling through most of my body. What a shock. Gotta breathe. Remember to breathe.
you really are making a big deal out of some normal course of events for many companies. The CFO is typically not the strategist but instead involved in doing the most with the cash a company has on hand and responsible for accurate financial reporting.
The guy got an offer he liked better, speaks to the good job he was ding. It is a common courtesy to not announce the other company but let them have their own thunder if they want it.
so have fun with your typical agenda of TiVo is horribly managed and make hay while the sun shines but this is not exactly any supernova for TiVo. Just some more work on management's agenda to get a replacement

[HDTiVo]

Looks like the trolls who want to confuse the folks for their own purposes are headed in. How long before the characters from this thread (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=356038) arrive?

Sordello's departure marks the Alviso-based company's third CFO change since early 2006 (http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/fn/4911031.html)

[ZeoTiVo]

I am just sitting here stunned. Mouth hanging open. Weak feeling through most of my body. What a shock. Gotta breathe. Remember to breathe.
so making this reply to your own post starting the thread is not setting up your spin on the news ????????????
You have an agenda and you should just be open about what is obvious to all.

as to the news - all I have seen on it is the Guy got a better offer and took it. With the current pricing policy it probably is a tough job with long hours being the CFO at TiVo

[HDTiVo]

You have an agenda and you should just be open about what is obvious to all.

Since you are too dim to see it for yourself, I will spell it out for you in the hopes it gets through to you.

What I do here is stimulate critical thinking and debate about what is and might be, and bring information and knowledge from a broad range of sources and put it in context to show a balanced and realistic outlook; often with good natured humor and some witty sarcasm.

On subjects I want to know more about, I research, ask questions and learn.

Why not try that out and see how it feels?

[HDTiVo]

So can we start hoping Rogers is next?

[ZeoTiVo]

So can we start hoping Rogers is next?
there that is better. Just put the agenda right out there. This should stimulate some critical thinking and debate, or is this your good natured sarcasm at work. Maybe you are right and I just find your posts too confusing to comprehend

[HDTiVo]

there that is better. Just put the agenda right out there. This should stimulate some critical thinking and debate, or is this your good natured sarcasm at work. Maybe you are right and I just find your posts too confusing to comprehend
I do write for an informed and sophisticated audience. I wish the others would not get so angry about it.

[davezatz]

This may or may not be a big deal... people changes jobs for all kinds of reasons. Without overhearing what Steve says to his close friends and family, there's no way of knowing his motivation. It's not uncommon to not name the company someone moves to - why would TiVo put that in their release? I assume it's public and can be or will be found. Who knows, maybe he's joined Ramsay. Hm, guess my interview request is off the table.

Did any of the documentation indicate the timing of when he would leave?

[HDTiVo]

The quote from the 8K I referenced in post #10 speaks to the timing.

The circumstances of this news are more correlated with the negative than the positive. So when you are parsing the probabilities for the future you take that into account. I did not get the feeling Sordello was a bad executive who was contributing to TiVo's problems, and I don't get the feeling that his move to a 'well known late stage' company indicates there is something wrong with him.

[c3]

Well, Wall Street seems to like this news.

[HDTiVo]

Well, Wall Street seems to like this news.
Now you bring up the core of it. The people who dislike, impugn and defame me are talking their own book. Many have little understanding of the subject matter, but comment anyway.

[HDTiVo]

Before joining TiVo in August 2006, Sordello was CFO at search engine Ask Jeeves, now part of Barry Diller’s InterActiveCorp.
Could Diller have snagged Sordello for Veoh?

[ZeoTiVo]

Questions like...

Why did he take the job in the first place?

Who would hire him with TiVo on his resume? :eek:

Why the new employer is not disclosed?

Why didn't he leave to spend more time with his family? ;)

Did he resign because he's been reading my posts? :confused:
so again what kind of spin were you going for with this solid, full of information post. You can not sell me on your grand intentions to provide useful info when you keep on with stuff like this.
So provide solid info. Post something that informs instead of vaguely insinuates and perhaps you will get less comments on your agenda.

[GoHokies!]

Now you bring up the core of it. The people who dislike, impugn and defame me are talking their own book. Many have little understanding of the subject matter, but comment anyway.Could you clarify that a little bit so us "uninformed and unsophisticated" trolls with an agenda (as opposed to you, trying to spawn a "fair and balanced" intelectual debate with well thought out posts like "So can we start hoping Rogers is next?") know what the heck you're talking about?

I'm glad to see that anyone that doesn't agree with your position is dead wrong, yet you continue with thinly veiled personal attacks and make no effort of offer any evidence or basis for your claims that Tivo, Inc is run poorly.

I'm still waiting for you to take me up on my offer to show me where I'm wrong and your basis for thinking that Tivo is so poorly run from the other thread you linked to.

But, I guess I'm just too dumb to understand it. :rolleyes:

Edit: Zeo's post wasn't there when I started - he said it better and more politely.

[MickeS]

you /../ make no effort of offer any evidence or basis for your claims that Tivo, Inc is run poorly.

Say what you will about HDTiVo, but he has posted many detailed messages about what TiVo does wrong in his opinion, AND what they should do to change it.

[HDTiVo]

Say what you will about HDTiVo, but he has posted many detailed messages about what TiVo does wrong in his opinion, AND what they should do to change it.
And not a bad track record of being right with my predictions (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=5251232&&#post5251232)? :)

[GoHokies!]

I must have missed them.

Maybe I should have asked him to explain it to me.

Like I did here:
http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=5258853&&#post5258853

But since you jumped to his defense in that thread too, maybe you can help me out. The offer of a public apology still stands if I'm wrong. Even if it's a viewpoint I don't agree with, a logically constructed argument to have an intelligent debate over would be a step in the right direction.

[ZeoTiVo]

Say what you will about HDTiVo, but he has posted many detailed messages about what TiVo does wrong in his opinion, AND what they should do to change it.
for the record, I do agree HDTiVo does bring in a lot of information that is on topic for the forum. He is not a troll and is welcome to his agenda that brings in diverse opinions to the forum. At the same time this is a forum many read and while I am not gping off to the business news to dig up all the info he seems to have to hand each day I will express my opinion of his posts. Fair is fair and all that

[GoHokies!]

for the record, I do agree HDTiVo does bring in a lot of information that is on topic for the forum. He is not a troll and is welcome to his agenda that brings in diverse opinions to the forum. At the same time this is a forum many read and while I am not gping off to the business news to dig up all the info he seems to have to hand each day I will express my opinion of his posts. Fair is fair and all thatGood point, and I agree - I certainly don't hold any personal malice towards MickeS or HDTivo, I just don't see where he's provided any logical basis for his viewpoint.

Hence, the request for a bit of an explanation (I was serious about that), I would honestly like to get smarter, but (the admitedly small amount) what I know doesn't bear out his conclusions.

[RoyK]

Once again so many are saying so much about something about which they really know so little.

[MickeS]

Once again so many are saying so much about something about which they really know so little.
Well, it IS the Internets.

[ZeoTiVo]

Well, it IS the Internets.
all your CFO's are belong to us

[jtlytle]

I'm getting my Masters this December.. Should I apply for CFO position???

[c3]

I'm getting my Masters this December.. Should I apply for CFO position???

Sure, but HDTiVo may have already submitted his resume.

[jtlytle]

There's photo of him at http://investor.tivo.com/management.cfm click his name.

[drew2k]

Remember that one time, on the View, when like Rosie O'Donnell used to like ask all these leading questions and like not ever answer them? But the questions had a point behind them, and when challenged about what she was doing, Rosie was all like, I'm just asking innocent questions? Remember? Good times.

[bidger]

"that one time"? ;)

[Phantom Gremlin]

There's photo of him at http://investor.tivo.com/management.cfm click his name.
Fascinating page. Why does a company with 451 full time employees need 19 vice presidents?

[ChuckyBox]

Any of you pups stop to consider that maybe he's leaving for exactly the reason stated? That is, they are paying him so much frickin' money that he can't turn it down. The best possible result Sordello could hope for at TiVo would be a sale of the company that would net him (given his option package) maybe $4 million at the outside. But as CFO of a "late stage venture funded company" (which is Wall Street-speak for "nearing IPO time"), he could easily make 10 times that, or more. He has shown great skill at working with bankers and institutional investors (both at his previous job, and at TiVo), and that is exactly what an IPO-bound company needs in a CFO. It's no surprise that the headhunters would target him, and it's no surprise that they could come up with the money to lure him away.

Sordello leaving is not good for TiVo, but it doesn't mean that anything is wrong with TiVo, either.

[ChuckyBox]

Fascinating page. Why does a company with 451 full time employees need 19 vice presidents?
Title inflation?

[ChuckyBox]

Remember that one time, on the View,
I can't believe that you publicly admit to watching The View.

[wolflord11]

I can't believe that you publicly admit to watching The View.

LMFAO :D

[wolflord11]

The position he's heading for sounds like a rather good one, so I suspect this was an offer he couldn't turn down.

People change jobs for a number of reasons:

Better Money, More Time at home, a New State, a change....

The list can go on and on.

All I can say is I hope his new Job is all he was looking for. Now, Tivo needs a New CFO. Lets hope they hire someone decent, who can do a good job. :D

[drew2k]

I can't believe that you publicly admit to watching The View.I can't believe that you actually believe there was any such admission in my post. :p

There are other ways to learn what happens on The View without actually watching it. (For example: Leno, Letterman, EW Magazine, and that little thing called the Internet.)

[Justin Thyme]

Title inflation?
The public usually assumes its about vanity, but in technology companies there is so much hand waving going on, external folks need to know which people are held up by the company as authorities.

When you have 20 meetings at the conference, and you have to cull the list, you choose to meet with those who are more likely to get something real done.

Does the title of VP raise you in the list or lower you? Trying to figure out what one company's "Group product manager" vs a "Division lead" means only hurts people's heads. Easier to call them VPs.

Ok, the moms like it too.

[davezatz]

LinkedIn?!

[MickeS]

As in http://www.linkedin.com/ ?

Well, they DO have mostly text, rounded corners and muted colors... isn't that all it takes to be successful on the web?

[larrs]

I can't believe that you publicly admit to watching The View.

:D +1

[HDTiVo]

LinkedIn?!
You should read my blog; you could have posted that several hours earlier. :cool:

[ZeoTiVo]

Does the title of VP raise you in the list or lower you? I think the title has mainly to do with stock options and bonuses