TECHNOLOGY, AWARD RECIPIENT
At age 15, Tarkan Maner created one of Istanbul’s first commercial maps to advertise local businesses. As founder of one of Istanbul’s “first Yelps,” Maner proved early that he had the entrepreneurial vision to recognize a need and find a winning strategy to solve it. And as president and CEO of Wyse Technology, he used this vision to take a company on the verge of bankruptcy and transform it into the leading thin-client technology provider in the world.
In the early 2000s, Maner was looking for investment opportunities for his company, Computer Associates, when he heard about Wyse and its financial troubles. On the advice of an associate, he decided to take a look at the struggling technology company, despite the fact that it was highly leveraged and had no current prospects of success.
Upon his visit, Maner found a company that, despite its failures, actually had a promising and bright future if it could just develop its product further. Initially, the company did not accept many of Maner’s suggestions about its financial and corporate strategies. But his sharp vision for Wyse’s potential inspired him to take a chance on the business and come on as an executive resident, seeking to refocus the company on its technology products.
In deep debt and unable to fund its own operations without help, Wyse needed money to keep its key players on board and support the new, product-focused strategy. Moving into the position of president and CEO, Maner helped Wyse recapitalize with $200 million of capital from Chinese investors. Under Maner’s leadership, the company paid off all its debt and refocused its competitive product line to become a global leader in cloud client computing.
HOW TO REACH: Wyse Technology, www.wyse.com
