roofus Posted February 22, 2008 Share #121 Posted February 22, 2008 Advertisement (gone after registration) How long was Lee in charge? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted February 22, 2008 Posted February 22, 2008 Hi roofus, Take a look here Steven K.Lee gone. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
Michael-IIIf Posted February 22, 2008 Share #122 Posted February 22, 2008 ..... this country would be in much better shape. ....... And there was me thinking this was the Internet. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
photolandscape Posted February 22, 2008 Share #123 Posted February 22, 2008 I just spoke with someone at Solms and it is confirmed with immediate effect.There were no tears being shed that's for sure. andy A very interesting development. I hope the decision was made for the right reasons--Leica's poor customer service, often inept communications, confusion about its product line, and all of the engineering and manufacturing problems that we are all too aware of. If, on the other hand, Steven Lee was released because he was really trying to shake things up in a good way, then this is not good news. By that, I mean bringing the company forward financially and competitively, all while respecting the integrity Leica's reputation and heritage. Not an easy mix of things to juggle. Before I decide whether his leaving is a good thing, or a bad thing--I am anxious to find out more about who is replacing him. His name is familiar--isn't he the big Austrian investor who sort of bailed Leica out in the past couple of years? The only constant is change. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjh Posted February 22, 2008 Share #124 Posted February 22, 2008 How long was Lee in charge? He joined Leica’s board of directors in September 2006 and was appointed CEO just two months later. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
woland Posted February 22, 2008 Share #125 Posted February 22, 2008 ..well...S.K.Lee gone- let's hope that the next man will do something for the R9DMR and get the Leica reputation back -as being the first company to introduce movable digiback to a film camera. This would keep the OLD customers happy and give something to think for the Japanese..IMHO Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alessandro Fanchin Posted February 22, 2008 Share #126 Posted February 22, 2008 I am currently and I have been CEO in some companies. The hardness of the announcement tells me that there must be some very strong hidden motivations for the removal of Mr. Lee. Some guess: 1. Robbery. 2. The tentative to buy the majority or a large stock of the company. 3. The management of the company NOT following Board Guidelines. 4. The tentative to sell the company to a competitor. 5. The passing of information to a competitor. 6. The tentative to create a competitor. 7. Not ONLY some bad developed business, in my personal opionion! We will see... By the way, I would like to be in the board's minds to know how they are now going on for the research of a new CEO. I suggest that they gat someone OUTSIDE the camera business, trying to get new ideas.... somebody like Steve Jobs.. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Smith Posted February 22, 2008 Share #127 Posted February 22, 2008 Advertisement (gone after registration) I don't really follow the current office politics at the Leica head office/mothership, I am content to be playing with my M3. I do think Mr. Lee's tenure was cut short due to the M8 roll out. If I am dropping $6000 CAD for a digital M platform, I am not going to be happy being the beta tester (the person that test products for defects) and I think the board of directors got an earful from customers in that regard. I am going to be a real heretic but for the same money you can get a Nikon D3 which is a full frame DSLR. I don't have to get my Nikkor ai lenses coded like M lenses. I think Leica made a serious mistake dropping the removable digital back for the R8/R9, it was technology that was not fully explored and wouldn't have been interesting that a full frame sensor went into that. I also think the R platform is underrated too. For me the M body is always a film platform. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JumpStart Posted February 22, 2008 Share #128 Posted February 22, 2008 There is 'too much happiness onj this thread about this. What it means is a slowdown ijn progress for Leica and for us as a group Sad really DBK Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
modo Posted February 22, 2008 Share #129 Posted February 22, 2008 I'm in the same boat. I've been doing a lot of research, having finally decided that I need to go digital and I had finally decided that for me the M8 makes better sense than Canon or Nikon as I have many M lenses. Now, however, I'll definitely wait to see what transpires. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rick_dykstra Posted February 22, 2008 Share #130 Posted February 22, 2008 I wonder if he'll be buying an R10 <grin>. LOL! How funny would it be to have him behind you in the cue. "G'day. I don't think we've met. I think I've seen your face though? I'm Rick. So, you're a fan of Leica then?" "I don't think I could say that, but, I wanted to see what they've done with my song." "Oh, right. So, it's your song that plays when the mp3 player boots up? I'm gonna love that feature. Just what I need while I'm waiting for the right bird to land on the right stick." "Are you that Rick? Rick Dykstra? With the bird shots on the Leica User Forum?" "Well, yeah. You've seen them then?" "Seen them! I got the sack for spending all my time at work reading the Leica User Forum. I was going for a record number of posts! I use the name Steve Unsworth, but I'm really Steven Lee. Nice to meet you." Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hankg Posted February 22, 2008 Share #131 Posted February 22, 2008 Normally even when an executive is fired companies couch it in face saving terms like 'he wanted to spend more time with his family' or 'he is pursuing other opportunities'. It must have been a very bitter parting for them to announce it in the way they did. Maybe Mr. Lee will be giving a tell all interview to some trade magazine soon. I'm sure the new owners would not have canned him if he was getting results. He and any who replace him will be somewhat constrained by the owners commitment to the current employees. So no closing down Wetzlar and moving the whole production to Malaysia or China. But it would seem there is still a lot that needs to be sorted out at Leica. There may be some changes in direction in the not to distant future. I won't speculate on what but let's hope it's for the better. I would not read to much in to Leica's stock chart. There are not to many companies that have seen a rise in equity price since the year began on any market. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cocker Posted February 22, 2008 Share #132 Posted February 22, 2008 I'm sure that it will not be long before someone who thinks he knows gives us his opinion. Please don't wake me up with the News! I can wait. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
don_panko Posted February 22, 2008 Share #133 Posted February 22, 2008 A change at the top means a change in culture. We will have to wait to see if that change is what we like. I do like the comment that a compter company exec would be the best choice for a new CEO as this is where their business is headed. I'm still enjoying the M8, no matter. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrc Posted February 22, 2008 Share #134 Posted February 22, 2008 I tend to think that something went seriously wrong -- not a business tendency (marketing problems, disagreements about engineering), but an *event.* There are many ways to get rid of a CEO, but this came with what seems to be an intentional insult. That is not the way business is usually done in Germany (or Austria.) Of course, the event could have been a long series of disagreements that blew up in a terrific, unpardonable argument between the manager and the owner...but even then, that kind of thing is usually concealed behind a veil of good wishes, amicable parting, decisions to move on to new opportunties, to spend more time with the family, etc. This really is extraordinary -- and we may never know what **actually** happened. I think there is a better possibility that this is bad for the company, than good. But we shall see. JC Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alessandro Fanchin Posted February 22, 2008 Share #135 Posted February 22, 2008 I do like the comment that a compter company exec would be the best choice for a new CEO as this is where their business is headed. I am sorry I will explain myself better: my idea of putting here Steve Jobs is NOT because he is a manager of a computer company. I was trying to say that for Leica they need a DREAMER! Somebody able to set a new way! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cocker Posted February 22, 2008 Share #136 Posted February 22, 2008 A change at the top means a change in culture. We will have to wait to see if that change is what we like. I do like the comment that a compter company exec would be the best choice for a new CEO as this is where their business is headed. I'm still enjoying the M8, no matter. Absolute and utter nonsense. This is a professional camera business not a "farm it out to to Chinese" low cost electronics company. Fortunately there are some bits of the world American mentality cannot pollute Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill Posted February 22, 2008 Share #137 Posted February 22, 2008 I am sorry I will explain myself better: my idea of putting here Steve Jobs is NOT because he is a manager of a computer company. I was trying to say that for Leica they need a DREAMER! Somebody able to set a new way! Alessandro, forgive me for stepping in, but I think (hope) you mean they need a VISIONARY not a "dreamer" - the two are very different. Regards, Bill Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill Posted February 22, 2008 Share #138 Posted February 22, 2008 Me, I would like to thank Mr Lee for getting people out of the narrow confines of the M8 Forum and back into the "real world" Regards, Bill Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alessandro Fanchin Posted February 22, 2008 Share #139 Posted February 22, 2008 Alessandro, forgive me for stepping in, but I think (hope) you mean they need a VISIONARY not a "dreamer" - the two are very different. Regards, Bill Of course I meant a VISIONARY, sorry for my English often not appropriate. And also understand that many times in Italian we talk with hyperbolas (an exageration made on purpose). A visionary like Steve Jobs... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stunsworth Posted February 22, 2008 Share #140 Posted February 22, 2008 Me, I would like to thank Mr Lee for getting people out of the narrow confines of the M8 Forum and back into the "real world" I was thinking the same. I expect there are some people there wondering why it's so quiet <grin>. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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