John Rade is staging Computron's comeback

Founded in 1978, Computron (Rutherford, NJ) markets client-server production workflow, online archiving and maintenance management software for Unix and Microsoft Windows NT operating systems. The company has struggled over the past two years. For the nine months ending September 30, 1996, Computron reported a loss of $21.3 million, ($1.03 per share) on $36.8 million in revenue. The figure represents a revenue drop of 14.7% from the corresponding period in 1995. However, with a new CEO and a focused sales strategy, it is showing signs of recovery.

In September 1996, as part of the company's restructuring, Computron announced a 12% reduction in its work force, eliminating secondary products, markets and activities that were not related to its core product development. In all, the company cut its work force from 600 people at its peak to 440 people today.

In February, Computron named John Rade as director, president and CEO. Rade replaced Adrian Peters who left the company. Computron has staked its comeback on Rade who has extensive corporate restructuring experience.

Most recently, Rade was with S-Cubed, a company he founded in the client-server system development and consulting market. Prior to launching S-Cubed, Rade was president and CEO of Information Science. He was credited with successfully salvaging that troubled publicly-held software company, while turning a significant operating loss into a profitable situation and raising sufficient funds to affect the turnaround of Information Science. He also worked with Computer Sciences in Brussels.

Rade is optimistic about Computron's future. He cites a $6 million contract with AIG Insurance American International Group (New York) and recent deals with Federal Express and the French retailer, Mono Prix (Paris).