Gene One, Implementing a Leadership Change

Essay by maulwoofUniversity, Bachelor'sA, April 2009

download word file, 7 pages 0.0

Gene One is a company that recently enjoyed breakthrough success with a discovery that benefits the plantation and farming industry. This gene technology intervenes with the eradication of disease in tomatoes and potatoes. "As a result, farmers no longer needed to use pesticides when growing these plants and consumers were pleased to buy homegrown products untainted by chemicals." (Gene one, 2005) The discovery was in the biotech division of the company and was facilitated by Teri Robertson, Gene One's chief technology officer and research scientist. This company is just 8 years old and was started by founder and CEO, Don Ruiz. The discovery is credited for helping Gene One to grow from a $2 million dollar company to the $400 million dollar company of today.

The board of directors is convinced that Gene One could become an industry leader and have aspirations of becoming a successful public company. Various leadership changes at the Food and Drug Administration are further enhancing investor confidence in the industry and this has led to the proposal that Gene One is going to have to go public within the next three years in order to keep pace with the demand.

According to the local newspaper, the Daily Gazette, the company plans to increase its annual growth and sales by 40%. This is to be done through more gene technology products that will reduce the need for pesticides. This creates the need for more financing to support the new research that will enable Gene One to meet these growth figures.

Gene One faces several challenges for a successful IPO. First is the lack of IPO experience in the company. No one at the company has had any experience with this and it will be necessary to bring in external help. Second is the fact that...