Replaced by Chairman’s Wife, Secretary : Protocol Board Members Ousted
The chairman and majority stockholder of Protocol Computer, a Woodland Hills data communications firm, has ousted two prominent members of the company’s seven-member board and replaced them with his wife and personal secretary.
Acting at the company’s Feb. 3 shareholder meeting, Chairman Richard L. Swarz replaced Graham Tyson and Walter Bauer with Swarz’s wife, Sandra, and his secretary, Helen Braitman.
Tyson is chairman of Dataproducts, a computer printer company, and Bauer is former chairman of Informatics General, a software maker that was acquired last year by Sterling Software. Both joined the board in July, 1983.
Those involved in the board shake-up either did not return phone calls or declined to comment. But one insider said Swarz acted because of several disagreements with Tyson and Bauer, who reportedly wanted Swarz to stay out of the company’s day-to-day operations.
Holds 51% of Stock
Swarz, a lawyer who founded Protocol Computer 10 years ago, can select board members because he holds 51% of the company’s stock.
Protocol makes devices called converters that allow non-IBM computers to communicate with IBM computers.
The company has had a difficult time during the past year, at least partly because of increased competition. The company lost $3.5 million on revenue of $9.9 million in the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, after earning $884,000 on revenue of $15.8 million the previous year.
In September, the company named Paul Singh its president. A data communications specialist with dual British and Canadian citizenship, Singh replaced Swarz as president and chief executive. Singh, who also is on the board, could not be reached for comment.
To improve the company’s business, Singh has emphasized a new software and hardware package that Protocol says will make it easier for computer users to plug into networks that use telephone lines to transfer data worldwide.
