New Lotus chief talks turkey

By Marc Songini and John Fontana
Network World Fusion, 01/17/00

Last week, IBM named Al Zollar to run its Lotus Development Corp., after former CEO Jeff Papows resigned.

Zollar, who officially takes over on Feb. 1, has been with IBM for 23 years, spending the first 10 years as a field systems engineer responsible for helping customers implement networks. For the past 13 years, Zollar has been on the product side of IBM, in engineering leadership positions and general management positions.

Now, Zollar will take on the task of leading Lotus, which is battling Microsoft in the messaging and collaboration space with its Notes/Domino products and making a major push to position itself as a knowledge management platform. On Tuesday, Zollar sat down with Network World senior writer Marc Songini and senior editor John Fontana to talk about his career at IBM, his transition to CEO of Lotus, and the future of the IBM subsidiary.

You're a long-time IBMer. How do you think your experience will play out at a subsidiary as independent as Lotus?

I've had a lot of different experiences at IBM, but two of them have really helped me understand what it is like to be in a smaller company. I was the senior-most IBM guy attached to Tivoli and I had responsibilities for integrating the IBM people into Tivoli. Most recently, the [Internet security company] Dascom acquisition that we completed under the Network Computing Software Division gave me the chance to work very carefully with the people of Dascom so they felt good about the way that we integrated them into IBM. So I think I have an understanding of some of the cultural issues that can exist when you are in this situation.

You've had many different positions at IBM, and since you are so acquainted with all these parts of the company does this allow you to see some possible relationships within IBM that might not have been explored?

It gives me the ability to balance things perhaps a little more carefully than some others might be able to. That being said, the importance of the Lotus brand identity is the thing that will guide me going forward.

How do you best downplay customer fears that a long-time IBMer is coming in and that it doesn't mean there are big changes in store for Lotus?

You know, it is funny. I think a lot of people are looking at this as "here is a long-time IBMer vs. someone else, I guess, a long-time Lotus person or someone else in the industry." I think you should look at this from the perspective of there is an inside person vs. an outside person. With the experience that I have had inside of IBM, and working with Lotus and Tivoli and all the other folks that I have had to work with in my responsibilities, I think I can help the team go forward to attack the markets that we want to succeed in so that customers will get the best of IBM.

You had a number of leadership positions - do you have a particular style?

I try to come in and listen to people and let them know I want to be an enabler and someone who can help the entire team succeed. I hope that my ears get real big, my mouth shrinks up a little bit, so I can really lead the team effectively.

IBM Software Group Senior Vice President John Thompson said in his memo on Jeff Papows' resignation that IBM must continue to look for opportunities to "consolidate redundant infrastructure that are transparent to customers and do not compromise the IBM and Lotus brands." Can you be more specific?

I think simply said there are certain things that we do that are back-office functions that at the end of the day don't really add value to the brand or effect the way we serve our customers. If you can get more efficient in those things it gives you more ability to invest in more important things, like the brand.

What are the three most important technologies or programs under way at Lotus, and will that change in the foreseeable future?

This is my third day here, and technically I'm not on the job until Feb. 1, so I've got a lot to learn and I would not want to presume that I know a lot about all the things that are going on here. But I can tell you this, it is very clear to me that organizations of all types are striving to become perpetual learning organizations, and the base of that is messaging and collaboration. All of that technology and capability is in the hands of the Lotus team, and I want to figure out how I can work with the team to continue it.

What will be the role for Lotus' Executive Vice President of Strategy Mike Zisman after you take over?

Mike Zisman's responsibilities are unchanged. He will continue to report to John Thompson [head of IBM's Software Group].

Lotus has had trouble delivering major software initiatives on time, most

notably Notes/Domino R5. How will you address that situation?

Again, I am in learning mode. I know I've got a lot to learn here, but what matters is I'm very proud of what the Lotus team has accomplished and I look forward to being even more proud of what we can accomplish as we move forward.

How will you address the competitive landscape, i.e., independent reports that Microsoft Exchange is growing at about 50% per year?

I think there is no question that we have a major competitive battle with Microsoft. We welcome the competition. It's a company that is obviously very capable.

How important is the so-called "culture of Lotus" to the development of its products?

I don't want to be presumptuous and state anything about the Lotus culture. Again I am just here trying to learn it and absorb it. But it is clear to me that this is a very passionate team. Passionate about the product, passionate about the business partners. I think the core of the Lotus culture has made it so successful. I am going to add my passion to their passion and see if we can't create more.