Only a week ago we described how BreezeCOM grew from being a start-up of Michael Rothenberg, a former Lannet development manager who decided in 1992 to leave his senior position and build up a new company. In March 2000, eight years after it was founded, BreezeCOM was issued on Nasdaq (ticker symbol: BRZE), and the company is now being traded at a value of $970 million, almost $1 billion. BreezeCOM developed several product lines for supplying high-speed wireless data transmission. The company's flagstaff product provides two directional high-speed wireless Internet on MMDS frequencies to up to 15 kilometers.
Today, only three months after completing the Wall Street round, Rothenberg surprisingly announced his resignation. He will be replaced by Zvi Slonimsky, appointed BreezeCOM president in May 1999, and formerly president and general manager of Mer Telemanaging of the C. Mer group. Prior to that, Slonimsky served in managerial positions in DSPG and Tadiran.
Michael Rothenberg, how did the board of directors react to your resignation?
Rothenberg: "They reacted very well. They were slightly surprised, although they were aware of it for some time. The fund representatives know how to appreciate the return on their investments I brought them since the company first started."
How will management of the company be transferred to the president Zvi Slonimsky?
"I've known Zvi for many years. He was my first boss in Israel, when I began work at Tadiran. We remained in mutual contact and appreciation all those years, and always spoke of a cooperation between us. The opportunity arose a year ago when we were preparing to issue. To strengthen management, we brought in Aharon Dovrat as chairman, and Slonimsky as president of the company. Slonimsky has run the company for the past year successfully. I'm delighted that our relationship is good, and we'll continue to cooperate in BreezeCOM. I hope Zvi will succeed in leading the company to $500 million in sales in the next two-three years."
Won't your contribution to the technology and the products be missed?
"I stopped working on technology a year before the issue, and the company's excellent engineers managed to produce advanced products that brought in and will bring in large revenues."
What is your response to the claim that you waited to resign until after issuing?
"You can't say investors were misled. We presented BreezeCOM as a team during the road-show. We presented Zvi Slonimsky as the company manager. I decided on this move only in recent months, as I assessed that the company can do very well without me. BreezeCOM is my child, and you don't leave a child before it learns how to walk alone. I believe the company is now running alone."
"With what are you leaving the company? What did you receive as your retirement package?"
"I did not ask for anything, and I won't get anything. The board of directors did not give me any incentive. In fact, it's possible that I won't be able to sell some of my shares because of the move."
What are your plans for the future?
"I don't have anything definite, but everyone tells me to set up something. I thought about it, but I don't want to go to investment banking or the venture capital industry. I love entrepreneuring. I have many ideas in all sorts of fields, not necessarily in DSP and radio, which is BreezeCOM's field. Some tangential ideas will be developed with BreezeCOM.
"I'll rest and study for a while. I want to help my children with their homework, something I haven't done for the past eight years."
Rothenberg's replacement, Slonimsky, said today, "Everyone of us dreams of taking time out and going fishing. I'm pleased Michael is fulfilling his dream after issuing the company and leading it to its current standing. Whatever he does, I hope he'll remain a consulting director. Ultimately, BreezeCOM is his baby."
Chairman of the board of directors Aharon Dovrat regrets Rothenberg's departure. In response to a "Globes" question on whether he would cooperate on new ventures with Rothenberg, Dovrat said that he would be pleased to join him on future ventures, but there is nothing on the agenda for the moment.
Published by Israel's Business Arena on 7 June, 2000