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position. He was hired to help SCC diversify into consumer
electronics. Within 2 years, SCC had established a separate
consumer electronics division, with Herold as vice president.
This was the division that was eventually spun off with Herold
first as co-owner and eventually sole owner and that is the
petitioner in this action.
Herold is a workaholic, sometimes working 60-70 hours a
week. At one point, his workaholism contributed to a marital
breakup. He is also a micromanager, involved in all aspects of
the company's operations. For example, he personally interviews
every new employee and determines and distributes each employee's
annual bonus. He is responsible for every business plan at the
company. He personally reviews every major sale, does the sales
forecasting and sales reporting, and has designed petitioner's
sales report. The success of petitioner's business derives
almost entirely from its relationships with manufacturers and
customers. Herold is deeply involved in each of these essential
relationships.
Petitioner occupies a unique niche in the industry in terms
of size. Most of its competitors are either much smaller or much
larger in terms of sales volume. The smaller firms tend to have
annual sales ranging from $5 to $15 million, and sales of the
industry giants are in the billions of dollars. Petitioner's
sales were $35 to $45 million during the subject years. To help
petitioner thrive in this environment, Herold devised a strategy
of identifying and aggressively pursuing large customers that
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Last modified: May 25, 2011