This book includes a plain text version that is designed for high accessibility. To use this version please follow this link.
NORTH AMERICA Winner... JIM SKIPPEN


Canada CEO of WiLAN


CEO INSIGHT... Q


What are your most important


achievements at your current company?


My professional achievements at WiLAN can best be explained by looking at a before and after picture of the company.


When I became CEO of WiLAN in 2006 it had been in existence as a company for 14 years but it was in rough shape. At that time it had a going concern note from its auditors, a market cap of about $25 Million, $600,000 in the bank, about $5 Million in outstanding claims against it, no employees, no customers, no revenues and approximately 10 patents.


Fast forward to today and it could hardly be recognized as the same company. Over 280 companies have licensed our patents, we have over $130 Million in the bank, we have generated over $750 Million in license signings, we manage thousands of patents, we have a market cap of over $400 Million, we have 60 top notch employees and we are a member of the dividend aristocrats index of the Toronto Stock Exchange.


Q How did you do that?


Of course, I did not do anything alone but I would say key factors for our team in accomplishing this include: • Hard work • Perseverance • Belief in strategy


professional


• Modification of strategy when needed


• Hiring the best people Q


What education or prior experience helped you succeed at your current company?


I am a lawyer so I have a law degree. My undergraduate was a course that combined computer science and business.


All of this educational


background is helpful in what I am now doing.


I started my career as an associate and then partner in the Computer and Technology Group at a major Canadian law firm. I learned very early on that I needed to attract my own clients which I believe developed my entrepreneurial skills.


I worked for 10 years for another public technology company. My main role was General Counsel but I helped build and later ran a patent licensing program for the company which really educated me on our current business. I attended all Board meetings as Secretary and that gave me a lot of practical experience about Boards.


Q CEO?


One key lesson had to do with the relationship with the Board. The main job of the Board in my opinion is to hire the right CEO. If the Board is overruling


What lessons did you learn on your way to becoming a


or second guessing management decisions frequently, the company probably needs a new CEO or a different Board.


Another lesson is to focus on the key thing. A fox chasing 10 chickens is more likely to go hungry than a fox chasing one chicken.


Q


What lessons have you learned as a CEO?


Accept that not everything will work out perfectly. All great companies have setbacks. However, if one keeps moving forward as long as some things work out the company should be fine.


Related to this point, I would warn against too much analysis paralysis. One rarely has perfect information before making a decision and sometimes one needs to be satisfied with maybe 60% of the information one might like to have.


Q


What are the key success factors for a CEO?


Here are some of the key success factors: • Allocate time well • Be organized • Have a clear vision/plan – you must have a clear plan that you can explain to anyone that asks


• Admit when something is not working, and fix it if it is important


• Don’t be unduly waylaid by theoretical risks


Q Q


What are the key challenges for a CEO?


It is important to get and retain the right people. This is probably the most important job and is always a challenge.


It is important that a CEO do what he thinks is right for the company even if some or many stakeholders do not agree.


How did you overcome those challenges?


Every time I did something that was too short-term focussed, I regretted it. I listen to all points of view with an open mind but once I make a decision, I expect our team to do their best to support the decision.


Hiring and retaining the right people is a never-ending challenge. Offering the right people the compensation they need to work with you in a motivated state is important.


Cutting poor performers is also important. Q


How do you manage the relationship with your


Board of Directors?


We have a very strong Board who understand well the role of the Board and management, and that is most of the battle.


Before I joined, I made my expectations very clear to the Board. My expectations were that I would run operations and if they did not like what I was doing, I expected them to remove me as CEO rather than overrule my decisions.


FINANCE MONTHLY CEO AWARDS 2014


Jim Skippen - CEO of WiLAN


58 www.finance-monthly.com


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86