Thursday, April 23, 2009

Brocade Communications Shareholder Meeting (2009)

Brocade Communications Systems, Inc. (BRCD) had its 2009 annual meeting on April 15, 2009. The day after the meeting, Brocade announced closer ties to IBM. There was no informal presentation. 

Although the meeting itself was bare bones, Brocade's Shareholder Relations team did a fantastic job. I don't think I've ever praised a company's investor relations team before, but Brocade's team deserves special recognition. 

First, they used a portable miniature microphone. A company representative went around the room offering the microphone to whomever had the floor. You would be surprised at the number of companies which use no microphones at all, forcing shareholders to speak very loudly or requiring executives to repeat questions. Most large shareholder meetings have one or two standing microphones where people can stand to ask questions. This works well for larger meetings. For smaller meetings held in a conference room, a portable microphone works best. 

Second, the food was fantastic without being ostentatious. In these hard times, companies need to balance saving shareholder money with projecting a strong, healthy image. No food or coffee at the annual meeting indicates a company that either doesn't care about its shareholders or is trying to cut costs to the bone. Brocade had coffee and mineral water--the basics--but it also had some of the best chocolate chip cookies I've ever had. These cookies were so thick, they looked like scones. If my mother hadn't taught me basic manners, I would have stuffed about 20 of them in my pockets. I asked someone who made the cookies. She told me it was Gunther's Catering

I called Gunther's and confirmed they made the cookies. He said it was his mother's recipe, and they baked them fresh every day. The company has been around for 39 years and specializes in wedding receptions. If you like chocolate chip cookies, get thee to Gunther's. 

Lest you think it was just the cookies that won my heart, I assure you that's not the case. Shareholder relations personnel handled themselves professionally. They did not treat me or other shareholders like unwanted guests crashing an internal company party. You'd be surprised at how poorly many shareholder relations treat ordinary shareholders--read my Visa post, for example, where a shareholder relations person tried to stop me from taking a picture with the CEO, who was actually happy to have his picture taken, and then demanded my contact information. 

Lacking a presentation, the meeting would have been over had shareholders not asked questions. CalSTRS and CalPERS representatives appeared at the meeting to check on their shareholder proposals. Prior to voting, the company did not allow any comments to be made on their proposals. A shareholder attempted to make some comments, but Brocade's executives refused to allow him a microphone. Their refusal seemed unprofessional, because disallowing comments on specific proposals stifles the flow of potentially unbiased information to shareholders. Although most companies will tell you to make your comments at the end of the formal meeting, polls are closed by that time. Strike one against Brocade's management team. 

After the formal portion of the meeting concluded, the California representatives asked for a preliminary tally of the votes. Brocade didn't have one. I've never seen this happen before at any major company. Strike two against Brocade's management team. 

I asked a few questions. I asked how the company was managing the integration of Foundry Networks (FDRY). CEO Michael Klayko said the acquisition was going well. I asked what specific gap in Brocade's (BRCD) products the acquisition fulfilled. Many times, companies will acquire another company to boost revenue but will lack a real need for an acquisition. CEO Klayko said that Brocade found it cheaper to buy the company than to create the technology in-house. Foundry, he said, had "more connectivity products." Also, Foundry had just released a new chipset/product the prior Tuesday, showing that the acquisition was going smoothly. 

I asked what problems, if any, Brocade had discovered in the course of integrating Foundry. CEO Klayko said that Foundry Networks' distribution channels needed work, and its "marketing was suspect." Brocade's marketing, however, was very good, and that's why the two companies would work well together. 

I asked how Brocade expected to compete with Cisco (CSCO) and Nortel (NT). Here's where CEO Klayko shined. He said that Nortel might not be the best example to raise, because of its bankruptcy. As far as Cisco--Brocade's main competition--was concerned, CEO Klayko said that Brocade offers "cost advantages." In other words, Brocade offered similar products but at a lower cost. CEO Klayko also said the marketplace wants an alternative. Only near-sighted customers want to encourage a monopoly, because maintaining the status quo would allow Cisco to keep its high margins and relatively higher prices. Another shareholder, who worked for an investment firm, asked about analyst reports relating to IBM. 

CEO Klayko said there were lots of rumors out there and deflected the question. (The very next day, IBM and Brocade announced they would be working together on various products.) 

Another shareholder asked about Brocade's real estate strategy (buying vs. leasing property) and received a vague answer. 

Another shareholder was unhappy about the lack of a presentation. He also criticized the in-person absence of 50% of the directors. In what was the most memorable line of the day, he told Brocade's management, "Make us feel like you give a damn about us [small shareholders]." 

CEO Klayko responded that all the directors were present, but some were present by teleconference. He told this shareholder that he'd seen him present at various meetings throughout the year, so the company did communicate with its shareholders. I may have misheard the next response, but the shareholder responded that the only reason he was able to get access to those meetings was as a client of a brokerage firm. In my mind, if any company is restricting or selectively disclosing material information only to analysts or major shareholders, it would be violating Regulation FD. Please note: I do not have any information about whether any violation of Regulation FD is occurring, and I am not making any allegation of securities law violations. I would be very upset, however, if any company communicated relevant information only to major shareholders post-Regulation FD. 

I asked the CEO about complacency. I asked what the CEO was afraid of or concerned about. The CEO gave me a five item list: 

1. Access to capital. 
2. New technology (which makes current technology obsolete). 
3. Acquisitions that change the competitive landscape. 
4. Innovative quality (how to maintain quality). 
5. Cost (keeping costs low to attract customers). 

CEO Klayko also talked about the "entitlement mentality." He seemed to be channeling one of my favorite CEOs, Cypress Semi's (CY) T.J. Rodgers. 

I asked about various memorabilia in the room, which included a jersey from The City that Shall Not be Named (at least according to ESPN's Bill Simmons) and a signed Hootie and the Blowfish guitar. The CEO didn't know about the stories behind any of the memorabilia. 

Here's where things got a little interesting. I pointed out that Brocade had presented itself as an all-white, all-male company. All four persons at the front of the room representing Brocade appeared to be older Caucasian men. There's nothing inherently wrong with that, and diversity does not guarantee success. At the same time, almost all successful global companies present themselves as non-monolithic. (Pepsi (PEP) and Coke (KO) are way ahead of the game in this aspect.) I also said the executive team's lack of diversity was strange because the company was based in Santa Clara County, where 40% of the population is born outside the U.S. 

One of America's greatest attributes is its ability to project an open, tolerant image, which has attracted many ambitious, diverse people. As a result, we have the Blackberry (Canadian); Yahoo (Taiwanese); Google (Russian); eBay (French Iranian); and so on. Companies and countries that fail to project an open, tolerant image will be disadvantaged as world economies become more globalized, allowing talent and money to move elsewhere. In a nutshell, Brocade appeared to be violating Rafat's Law of Diversity

When I mentioned Brocade's appearance of having a 100% native-born Caucasian male executive team, the one and only female on the Board of Directors, Judy Bruner, raised her hand with a smile. Ms. Bruner is probably a great person. She received her MBA from Santa Clara University, my alma mater, and Santa Clara University strives to produce ethical, well-rounded graduates. However, when the only female on a company's Board happily raises her hand to demonstrate diversity, it's hard not to think that the corporate culture is irretrievably monolithic. From my perspective, having only one female on an entire Board is not cause for happiness or active disclosure. Even North Dakota's MDU Resources, Inc. (MDU) has more females on its board (25% of its directors are female) than Brocade. Thus, to me, Ms. Bruner's reaction--immediately identifying herself as the one and only non-male Director, instead of letting the CEO acknowledge the company's lack of diversity--felt strange. By the way, with the exception of perhaps three or four people in the entire room, everyone else present appeared to be native-born Caucasian also, which isn't an inherent problem, but still unusual in a diverse city like San Jose, California. 

CEO Klayko did not acknowledge his management team's lack of diversity. Instead, he said that we needed to create better educational opportunities here in the United States, and we were falling behind in science and math. He said Brocade was participating in the Tech Challenge, which encouraged children to pursue careers in math and science. In other words, Brocade was actively working at the local level to attract diversity. CEO Klayko joked that he was recruiting [minorities] at the 5th grade level. In response to my comment that we lived in a county that where 40% of the residents were immigrants, he said Brocade was a global company, not a local one. 

Unfortunately, his response confirmed my belief that Brocade's management culture is monolithic. Most studies show that Caucasians are only 20% of the world population. Assuming a 50/50 split in females and males, only 10% of the world contains Caucasian men--which indicates the CEO's response wasn't statistically sound. Again, there's nothing wrong with having 90% or 100% of any race on a management team. In fact, after the meeting, Investor Relations pointed out that of the 8 directors, one was a female and one was Indian--not a bad percentage. It's culture I am concerned with, not race. From what I saw at the meeting, Brocade's management team seems to lack cultural diversity. Strike three against Brocade's management team. After the IBM news was released publicly, I sold all but one of my shares. If Brocade works well with IBM, its shares may go higher in value; however, Brocade's relatively high debt load may inhibit its shares' forward progression. 

I really enjoyed listening to the CEO. He appeared energetic, strong-willed, charismatic, opinionated without being crass, diligent, goal-oriented, and knowledgeable--in other words, someone born to be a leader. I could immediately see why he ascended the corporate ranks. At the same time, passionate CEOs generally need a Board and executive team willing to speak up and provide a voice of caution. I'm not sure that's going to happen. Strong-willed leaders tend to unintentionally crowd out dissent, especially when their companies lack a substantial number of women in the upper ranks. With only one female and one Indian-American on the Board, I don't see Brocade's current management team as being sufficiently diverse. Perhaps I am wrong. On my way out, I passed by a room with many busy workers. Everyone in that room appeared to be of Indian descent. 

Note: Brocade has a blog. CEO Klayko's most recent post is here. The first line of his post is this: 

We are a nation and an industry curled up in the fetal position. 

It's hard not to like someone so direct, passionate, and intelligent.

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