When Paul L. Meissner, Ph.D., joined
Santur Corp. as CEO in January 2007, he
had a lot to take on. He wanted to transform the company from a one-product
group into a long-term-focused, high-growth-oriented business.
Within just a few weeks, he discovered
a flaw in a product designed for one customer and insisted on a total recall. He
insisted that the company take on the
cost burden associated with the recall
and the fixing of the problem.
Additionally, he demanded that the customer be given total honesty and
respect and that his team fix the problem quickly. The way he dealt with
that situation kept Santur from potentially going into bankruptcy and
allowed it to build better customer
relationships.
He’s also had to accomplish other
feats including transforming a tired,
unmotivated work force into an energetic and excited one and also changing the industry mindset that says to be
a good company you have to have a
broad portfolio of products across multiple technology platforms. Through his
efforts, he’s induced passion into his
people, and now, the company only targets large, high-growth markets for
semiconductor lasers.
The fruits of Meissner’s labor are
obvious, as he grew the company’s revenue 79 percent between 2006 and 2007
and now has a road map to take it well
into the future.
HOW TO REACH: Santur Corp., (510) 933-4100 or
www.santurcorp.com or