Corporateinklings

Big News Out of Boston

One of our long-standing clients, Guardium, was just bought by IBM.  It’s every company’s dream…but few succeed.  Of course – when you’ve got the best-and-brightest on your executive team, killer technology that competitors can’t come close to, and more blue chip customers than some of the blue chips out there – what’s not to like?  If you ask me, IBM scored.

I’d like to say I was surprised by Monday’s announcement – but the news was leaked the week before, showing up just about everywhere before it was “official”.   (Anyone who thinks PR is an easy job should ask IBM’s corporate communications team.)

As PR professionals, a successful acquisition is the “happy ending” we all work so hard to achieve.  But when the big day comes, it’s always bittersweet. 

Often, it marks the end of an era.  One that began four years ago with a small, venture-backed company vying for a top spot in an early-stage market – and ended with one of the year’s most successful exits. 

If all goes well, Guardium will continue to expand and thrive under Big Blue’s umbrella.  And if all goes really, really well – we’ll continue to drive visibility for Guardium (like we’ve done for other acquired companies, like VeriSign’s iDefense). 

Big kudos to the Guardium team.  It’s been an awesome run.  And the lessons we’ve learned along the way have us chompin’ at the bit to help do it again. 

- By Corinne Federici

Local court clerk steals $2 million in cash

So that’s today’s story in the Boston Globe – with more questions than answers. First, it seems the clerk, 38-year-old Marie Morey, has worked there since 1990, more than half her life, though ‘they’ are saying that the theft began just three years ago. Once it began, though, it was good pickings: some $2 million in 1,000 days – nearly 30 percent of her department’s entire $2.4 million annual budget.

So now, does the cover-up begin? And who’s really to blame?

For starters, the sudden 3-year window seems a little too pat, a little too convenient. Right alongside the court’s shocked claims that her scheme was exceptionally sophisticated – presumably letting the authorities comfortably off-the-hook for letting it run undetected for three years.

So what did she do that was so mysterious?  Pocket cash payments. Falsify bank records. Adjust internal accounting records. And have the good fortune of being the only one authorized to change entries in the bank’s accounting system.

What amazes me is how she managed to get away with it for three years. Her boss, now retired, declined to comment. Was he in on it? Or just happy he had one less thing to worry about in his final years on the clock?

We work with a lot of security companies, and know how easy it is to pilfer even secure companies’ systems.  One company we talk with, Memento Security, actually specializes in preventing bank fraud, and has written a pretty nifty book on the topic.

As for Marie? She declared bankruptcy in 2000, lived modestly, and supports her two children. The neighbors, of course, never suspected a thing.

Which gets back to good old management.  Trust.  Delegate. And verify.

Media note: Reporters at the New York Times are saying ‘small’ fraud doesn’t count after Bernie Madoff. My bet is that $2 million in cash is still a lot of money to most people. Especially if she pocketed the fine you paid in cash.

- By Amy Bermar