iolo technologies
Company: iolo technologies, Los Angeles, CA
Company Description: iolo technologies, a privately held firm founded in 1998 and located in Los Angeles, produces award-winning software that repairs, optimizes, and protects computers running Windows, such as System Mechanic, the #1 best-selling PC performance software, Search and Recover and DriveScrubber. Crowned fastest-growing U.S. Company by ABAs in 2010 and 2009.
Nomination Category: Management Awards Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Management Team of the Year
Nomination Title: iolo technologies Management Team
Tell the story about what this nominated management team achieved since January 1 2010 (up to 500 words). Focus on specific accomplishments, and relate these accomplishments to past performance or industry norms. Be sure to mention obstacles overcome, innovations or discoveries made, and outcomes:
When iolo technologies' executive team read Patrick Lencioni's "The Five
Dysfunctions of a Team", the seven executives were fascinated and eager to put
his ideas into action. They soon discovered, however, that they had a problem -
their well-functioning and well-liked team never exhibited any of the dysfunctions.
1) iolo's executive team members infinitely trust each other - beyond any ropes
course, they trust to reveal personnel problems, potential weaknesses and areas
of improvement to allow themselves to grow as individuals and team. 2) The team
doesn't fear conflict, often engaging in long, passionate, yet fun discussions -
one of such discussions during a recent executive retreat lasted from 8 am until
10pm and while sleepy, everyone was still enjoying each other's presence and
sharp arguments. 3) Once discussed, the team commits to agreements, communicates
them to their teams and executes. 4) Each member is held accountable for their
deliverables - often creating awkward or funny moments, but never failing to
deliver results. 5) Results are key, as evidenced by the cross-departmental
executive team achievements outlined below:
1) iolo achieved 80 percent sales growth in the U.S. in 2008, additional 31
percent in 2009 and a further 29 in 2010, roughly doubling its profits last year
alone.
2) Expanded its international presence from 33 to 40 countries worldwide, for a
22 percent expansion rate. iolo’s products are now sold across South America and
in more than 18,000 U.S. storefronts, including all major retailers.
3) Established and/or maintained #1 best-selling position in eight of those
countries. In 2010, iolo’s share of the PC tune-up market in the U.S. numbered
85 percent and in Canada, 98 percent.
4) Introduced a Spanish version of its products, and quickly established #1
best-selling position in that country. iolo’s products are now available in six
languages, including English, Dutch, French, German, Italian and Spanish.
5) Grew its worldwide customer base from 30 to 36 million, for a 20 percent
increase.
6) Introduced several significant new features to its flagship PC tune-up
product, the #1 best-selling (according to NPD Reports) and
multiple-award-winning System Mechanic, currently at version 10. The product,
with a multitude of proprietary technologies developed in-house by iolo, was
recently crowned Product of the Year by PC Magazine as the “stacked king of the
PC tune-up hill.”
7) Secured a patent for its innovative and industry-first ActiveCare automatic
maintenance technology.
8) Launched three innovative new products: System Checkup, PC Totalcare and
System Shield.
9) Experienced 41.8 percent growth in employee numbers last year alone and
further expanded operations worldwide, while being celebrated as one of the Best
Places to Work in LA list by Los Angeles Business Journal for the second year in
a row.
10) Won 28 major awards worldwide.
11) Actively advocated green and environmentally conscientious campaigns,
donating its software to numerous non-profit materials reuse organizations.
12) Accomplished all of the above with zero outside capital or debt, relying, as
it always has, on its own organic growth and self-driven revenue to fund
business expansion.
12) Remained consistently profitable for the 13th year and 52nd quarter in a row.
With its focus on customer satisfaction, quality products, and always-relevant
technology, iolo's executive team looks forward to many more successes and
fun in 2011 - while never relenting to Patrick Lencioni's Five Dysfunctions of a
Team.
List hyperlinks to any online news stories, press releases, or other documents that support the claims made in the section above. IMPORTANT: Begin each link with http://, and enclose each link in square brackets; for example, [http://www.youraddress.com]:
List of top coverage on iolo and its products, incl. many award-winning reviews:
http://www.iolo.com/company/news.aspx
List of top awards won by iolo in its 13-year history:
http://www.iolo.com/company/awards.aspx
Windows IT Pro names System Mechanic Business one of the Editors’ Best Products
of 2010, 12/1/10:
http://www.windowsitpro.com/article/review/2010-Windows-IT-Pro-Editors-Best-and-Community-Choice-Awards/6.aspx
PC Magazine names System Mechanic 10 one of Best of the Year 2010 products,
11/19/10:
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2372780,00.asp
PC Magazine awards System Mechanic 10 its Editors’ Choice award, 10/19/10:
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2371043,00.asp
New York Times highly recommends System Mechanic as a painless way to keep
computers in shape, 9/14/10:
http://gadgetwise.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/14/an-easy-painless-way-to-keep-a-pc-in-shape/
Exec Digitial (UK) names iolo technologies one of the five fastest-growing
companies on Earth, 8/29/10:
http://www.execdigital.com/business/leader/fastest-growing-companies-earth
Government Computer News awards System Mechanic its Reviewer’s Choice award,
8/10/10:
http://gcn.com/Articles/2010/08/16/Review-System-Mechanic-9.5-Keeps-PCs-Running-At-Speed.aspx?Page=1
WIRED magazine praises System Mechanic’s speed improvements, 7/11/10:
http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2010/07/system-mechanic-nice-product-especially-for-younger-computer-users/
Fox Business recommends System Mechanic as a cost-saving solution for small
businesses, 7/2/10:
http://www.foxsmallbusinesscenter.com/entrepreneurs/2010/07/02/make-business-computers-run-faster/
Huffington Post praises System Mechanic as “definitely a keeper,” 2/8/10:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/stephanie-vaughn-hapke/clean-out-your-computer-d_b_453126.html
Sacramento Bee recommends System Mechanic to “keep you computer in shape,” 2/7/10:
http://www.sacbee.com/135/story/2517323.html
Provide brief (up to 200 words total) biographies of the key members of the management team:
Noah T. Rowles founded iolo technologies, LLC (www.iolo.com) in June 1998 at the
age of 25 with only a few hundred dollars from his personal savings account.
Weary of being the family and neighborhood tech-whiz-on-call, Rowles decided to
start a company dedicated to creating software that helps other people’s
computers run smoothly. 13 years later, Los Angeles-headquartered iolo
technologies has defined, created, and taken the helm of this critical software
category. Commanding 85 percent of the US and 98 percent of the Canadian market
shares alone, it is now the global leader in the PC tune-up software category.
Today, its products are sold in 18,000 stores throughout 40 countries and used
by more than 36 million users worldwide to keep over 75 million computers
running like new.
As VP of corporate communications at iolo technologies, Julia Zamorska
strategically plans and supervises all external and internal communications
efforts, managing the internal department and seven PR agencies and distributors
across 40 countries. Ms. Zamorska was selected runner-up for PRWeek's
prestigious “Young PR Professional of the Year 2009” award from hundreds of
candidates nationwide, a finalist for Stevie Awards for Women “Executive of the
Year 2010” award and a finalist for American Business Awards' “Corporate
Communicator of the Year 2009” as the only person with less than 10 years of
experience. Born and raised in Poland, Julia Zamorska holds a BA in Social
Science (summa cum laude) from University College Utrecht, Netherlands and a
Masters degree in social anthropology from University of Oxford, England.
Consistently marketing industry-leading and best-selling software products for
over 20 years, Jean-Jacques Schoch, VP of marketing for iolo technologies, is a
modern day renaissance man who weaves together his media, writing, technical and
music skills, and uses that knowledge and experience to create exciting
leading-edge marketing strategies and highly effective campaigns. An
accomplished musician, tech-geek, writer, and multimedia creator, Jean-Jacques
Schoch has been passionately marketing software since working with Peter Norton
in the late 1980s.