Back from vacation and mostly caught up!
A few thoughts and ideas...
54 year old CEO with his track record would not take this position if he wasn't highly confident in a successful outcome. He surely has the money for a very comfortable retirement already but he probably loves what he does, and therefore it is unlikely this will be his last rodeo. He wouldn't risk tarnishing his record for future prospects. He knew what he was getting into before he agreed to take the position, and he already has a tentative plan in mind, particularly for financing. He may well also have his own small team for certain other positions; if so, those of you who wish to see the lingering squad removed may be happy with results after a brief transition period. If he sticks with the team that is in place, it will be because he will have sat down with each of them and ensured that their plans and goals are on track. I don't think he will keep dead wood around if he feels they are just that, but it will be his call. Not much different than a pro sports team; we just got a new coach and every player is being re-evaluated and if necessary, replaced. This is truly a whole new ball game. It would be interesting if anyone can research some of the key players from his last couple organizations to see if he tends to bring some of his own folks from place to place.
We need to get latest ideas together for a letter, starting with a warm welcome. If we really feel certain positions should be overturned, we need to cite specific reasons as to why we feel that they should be replaced. We need to ask that communications are frequent and drive home the level of necessity for this as it pertains to price per share (positive news gives us a nice pop in price but the span between communications allows the market to take back all gains plus a little more). We need to ask for a real timeline as soon as it can be established. We need to ask for an estimated budget to go with milestones on that timeline, and frequent updates on progress/status. The onus will be on us (no play on words intended here) to properly justify our requests, and also to ensure we are clear about our positions. I am reasonably sure that he is aware of us as a group and he just might be waiting to hear from us. Therefore, we need to be sure that we don't start out on the wrong foot. We were certainly pleased at the acknowledgement and response we received from Mr. Barker, and it would behoove us to have at least that strong a relationship moving forward. Most specifically, we do not want to make a nuisance of ourselves!
We can share our ideas also on the potential merits and pitfalls of bringing the device to market as Titan and maximizing our potential profits as investors versus looking for M&A activity which may reduce risk and shorten the timeline. Personally, I have about 6 years to kill before I can start digging into my retirement accounts so I have time to wait for maximum rewards, but that isn't everybody's situation, and ultimately it is up to Titan which direction they go. Mr. McNally certainly has a history here which doesn't necessarily work toward my end goals, but I believe he will build value before any such activity, and maybe do so by getting on the market independently first.
To make this easier, if you are posting content for possible inclusion in the next letter, please start your post with "For the letter" so it will be easier to find when we are putting it together.
Thanks!
Mustang
