Dutch applications generator supplier Uniface BV has opened a US headquarters and brought in ex-Ingres vice-president Mike Wilson to run it. Uniface is based in Amsterdam and does most of its business in Europe, turning over around $40m a year. It already has an East Coast distributor in New Jersey and although US sales represent a very small percentage of turnover, Alan Hochman, vice-president of marketing reckons the time is right to focus on the US to try and build a bigger user base. Wilson was vice-president for North American sales, service and support at Ingres and he arrived before the official takeover by Ask. Hochman says the decision to bring in Wilson, rather than promote internally, was made because the company wanted local people who know the US market. Part of that strategy involved pinching Anu Schkula from Uniface’s main competitor, Unify, to head the US marketing operations. Schkula was originally going to work for Steve Jobs at NeXT Computer, but Uniface managed to entice him away. The US office will be based in Alameda in California and will be manned at the management level entirely by Americans, although Uniface has sent out European technical teams. The North American expansion is part of the Uniface’s strategy to develop third party agreements with software houses. As part of that strategy it also plans to open a centre in the Far East.
