Gandalf Technologies Inc lost more than money in its fiscal third quarter to December: Brian Hedges, president and chief executive resigned in the wake of the poor performance. The Nepean, Ontario-based company says Hedges was despondent following its announcement in February of third quarter losses totalling $6.8m on lacklustre revenue of $30.3m. He took it very personally… because that’s the kind of person he is, said Gandalf’s chairman and founder Desmond Cunningham. Hedges served as chief financial officer and vice-president of operations at Gandalf from 1979-89, before rejoining in 1992 as chief executive. He will remain on the board.However, a UK source said Hedges’ departure did not take the company by surprise, and was a logical step. While he was described as having major strengths in the finance area, raising $30m in debentures and $48m in equity to pay off the debt associated with the acquisition of Infotron Systems Corp in May 1991, the spokesman said, the company was now entering a period of growth in the remote access local network market, and would benefit from an all-rounder at the helm. His replacement is Tom Vassiliades, a Gandalf board member since August. Previously, he spent six years at Bell Atlantic Corp where he was successively chief executive of Sorbus Inc, Bell Atlantic Customer Services Inc and Bell Atlantic Business Systems Inc. The company still expects to report a sizable loss for the year ended March 31. While the company admitted in February that it is looking for a strategic partner, observers say a takeover is more likely.
