Fame shake-up under new chief executive officer

Fame Information Services, the New-York based market data vendor, has secured a new investment from majority shareholder, Warburg Pincus, the private equity company. New plans to radically shake up the business have been unveiled by incoming chief executive officer, Dale Richards.

Richards, formerly president of Fame’s financial markets division, succeeded Gerald Mintz as chief executive officer two weeks ago. Stewart Gross, a Warburg Pincus senior managing director and a member of Fame's board of directors, welcomed the appointment.

Warburg Pincus has provided additional restructuring funding to Fame, which provides data management technology software and consulting services to financial and energy markets. The value of the funding has not been revealed.

"The market’s moving quickly from a 'home-grown' solution orientation to a vendor-provided solution orientation as customers seek cost savings and focus on their key strengths. We’re doing the same," Richards said in a statement.

Fame is reorganising to incorporate a customer-centric focus. 'Market-specific segment strategy teams' are to replace its vertical market-specific business division. A new executive management team, including Neil Edelstein, Dominic Innaccone and Paul Mattison has also been appointed.

Edelstein, joined Fame in April 2001 as senior vice-president, marketing, for its financial markets division. He now has global responsibility for all sales, pre-sales, marketing, product and account management for Fame’s energy and financial markets segment business. Edelstein was president of Muller Data, a $45 million data warehousing, software development, and financial information firm, from 1993 to 1998.

Iannaccone, senior vice-president, development, and currently responsible for global operations and development, takes responsibility for global software data hotline service management and data integrity, consolidating company-wide development, operations and technical support. He joined Fame in August 2000 from Inventure.com, developers of financial and energy trading software, where he was chief operating officer.

Fame chief financial officer Mattison assumes additional direct responsibility for the firm’s consulting services. Mattison joined in September 1999 as chief financial officer after eight years at The Thomson Corporation, where from 1997 to 1999 he served as chief financial officer of RIA Group.

With these organisational changes, Bill Wilson, previously president of Fame’s energy division, will assume a new projects role.