A Discussion with CSI Wireless CEO Steve Koles
Anatomy of a Turnaround
In 2006 Steven Koles was hired as the CEO of CSI Wireless. The high flying Calgary-based company, which once boasted a share price of $8.65 in 2000, was then in dire straits and in the midst of dramatically reorganizing, selling divisions and focusing on the GPS industry. Over the past two years the firm has seen a dramatic turn in its fortunes. Re-branded as Hemisphere GPS the company's stock price has moved from a low of $1.19 in Dec 2005 to over $4.50 currently. In its most recent quarter the company delivered a profit that was greater than any annual profit in the history of the company... (more)

A Discussion with PlateSpin CEO Stephen Pollack
From Bankruptcy to $205mm Acquisition
Toronto-based PlateSpin Canada was founded in 1999 with ambitions to build world-class management solutions for the telecom data centre market. Though the firm held considerable promise, in 2003 it filed for bankruptcy losing $11mm for its investors. Shortly afterwards, Stephen Pollack bought the assets of the company and with a skeletal team and $1mm in seed financing embarked on the journey to realize what he believed was its significant potential. In March 2008, PlateSpin Ltd was bought by Novell for $205mm in cash... (more)