Insiders Comment on Quark's Missing CEO
Quark Will Be OK
Jay J. Nelson, Editor-in-chief, Design Tools Monthly
I don’t think a change this sudden is ever planned. The overnight departure of a company CEO without another in the wings, without any prepared explanation, certainly indicates a lack of planning around that.
Fred’s volatility is legendary, and the way this went down makes me think he was responsible for the change. But his business ability is also legendary, and I have to think that he would only take an action such as this if it wouldn’t affect the success of the company. I know that for several years now, Quark’s product managers and other team members have been given about 1000% more freedom and responsibility than they ever been given before. This decentralization means that Kamar’s departure won’t matter much to Quark’s product line, at least not for the next few years.
It seems that these days Quark is like a gigantic freight train, not Tim and Fred pulling a wagon. And judging by the energy there and the previews of QuarkXPress 7, the train has momentum. All the people actually responsible for creating QuarkXPress are continuing in their work. The engineers have so much confidence, they’re so proud of XPress 7, that Kamar leaving seems like “oh yeah, a fly hit the windshield.”
From what I’ve seen, QuarkXPress 7 is an innovative, potentially industry-changing product, and it’s close to being shipped. I don’t think it’s going to make much difference who’s in the president’s position right now, and clearly Quark doesn’t think so either, or they wouldn’t have done it this way.
Now Is Not the Best Time
Pariah S. Burke
Author of “Adobe Illustrator CS2 @ Work: Projects You Can Use On the Job” (Sams, 2005) and the editor of the Web site Quark VS InDesign.com
I thought Aulakh was doing a pretty good job. If Quark had replaced Aulakh from within, it would have been a giant step backward. But the fact that they’re looking outside gives me hope. It makes me think that they want to continue some of the positive changes they’ve been making.
Quark needs someone with a fresh perspective and no emotional investment in the business, not someone with old grudges. The right person will treat it like any other business by building up weak areas and continuing to focus on the strengths.
Quark should continue innovation like multiple layouts in one project and synchronized text. If the company tries to play catch up, they’ll only slow market erosion, not stop it. They need to come out with innovative features other programs don’t have to get new customers.
Aulakh leaving is a bit of a concern because XPress 7 seems to have been his baby primarily. At least, he accelerated development. It’s supposed to be released this year, and he’s gone.
This leaves the company without clear leadership. I’m sure Linda Chase can do a great job, but she wasn’t the person who had the position.
What really affects the industry is Adobe’s impending acquisition of Macromedia.
If Adobe and Macromedia combine, Quark needs strong leadership and a strong identity to compete against what comes out of the merger. Now is not the time to switch leaders, especially the way they have.
I consider myself unbiased. Yes, I used to work for Adobe for about three years. But I’ve been a creative pro since the late 1980s. I remember hand-cutting rubyliths. I was there when the desktop publishing revolution kicked off. I’ve been using Quark and PageMaker since then, and I started using InDesign seriously with version 2. I’m a fan of Adobe, but that’s because I was a user for 10 to 15 years before working for them. I like QuarkXPress. I feel InDesign is a better program, but that doesn’t mean QuarkXPress isn’t a good one.
I have a passion for everything to do with graphic design and publishing. I’ve been on different sides of this, which gives me a unique perspective. It enables me to be honest and fair when looking at both QuarkXPress and InDesign.
