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The job description sounds more like that of a spiritual leader than a corporate CEO: Prove you are the visionary, the technical expert, the mentor and the motivator to the company that is all of those things to Utah's entire high-tech industry.
Novell Inc. is broken. When it wobbles, others fall.
Fix it, and you are a savior. Fail, and, well . . .
On Monday, all eyes turn to Eric Schmidt, the Internet prodigy who last week took on the challenge when he was chosen to replace Robert Frankenberg as Orem-based Novell's new chairman and chief executive officer.
At 9 a.m., Schmidt, 41, takes the stage at the Salt Palace Convention Center. Currently Sun Microsystems Inc.'s chief technology officer, he will join President Joseph Marengi to chart Novell's course for 5,000 worldwide participants gathered for BrainShare '97, Novell's annual developers conference.
The future of a formidable force in Utah's economy is at stake, observers say.
``Novell has profound influence on this state, and frankly, I'm scared to death,'' says Leonard Du Charme, marketing vice president for American Fork's Capsoft Development, a legal software company financed by former Novell CEO Ray Noorda. ``I watch the company's stock every day, and I hate to see it struggle. It gives me a sick feeling.''
That the computer networking software giant has far-reaching influence in Utah is certain.
With $1.4 billion in annual sales, Novell pumps a significant sum into Utah's economy every working hour, says Richard Bradford, Utah Valley Economic Development Association CEO.
During its first quarter ended Jan. 31, it reported $375 million in sales and $51 million in profits. It is a behemoth that Marengi says has $1.1 billion in the bank.
When combined with Orem's 550 Corel Corp. employees, who until a year ago were part of Novell, its 2,800 employees constitute nearly a third of Utah Valley's high-paid, high-tech work force, Bradford says.
``Obviously, we're very interested in Novell's success.''
And it goes even deeper.
Dozens of Utah County firms and many in other parts of Utah trace their roots to Novell and rely on it, at least in part, for their business.
Since leaving Novell in 1994, Noorda, through his venture-capital firm The Canopy Group, has become the primary shareholder...