1969

Paul Jerde is now the acting CEO of Cortech, a Denver-based biotechnology firm. On day one, the first problem he faced was sartorial (that's the first time I've ever used that word). He was wearing a suit and tie while all the employees were in jeans and T-shirts. I think you can figure out how that story ends. His real problems, however, are not that easy to solve. Cortech was in trouble, and Paul specializes in bringing companies back from the brink of financial disaster. To date, he has a good track record. Paul sees this job as temporary until someone with biotech experience can be found. From there, he will move on to something "not very different from things I've done in the past." That would include playing drums in a rock band. Paul and wife Marilyn will be part of the Los Alamos mini-reunion sometime this spring.

One of our seminar speakers at the 25th was Russ Granik, the number two man in the NBA front office. He also is vice president of USA basketball (which picks the U.S.A. Olympic team) and a trustee of the Basketball Hall of Fame. The Sporting News has ranked him 26th on its list of the 100 most important people in sports. So respected is Russ that the NHL tried to hire him as commissioner. Russ felt more comfortable with basketball and stayed with the NBA, which is one reason why we are watching a full season of basketball this year. Russ was the NBA's chief negotiator in the latest deal with the Players Association. He also was a key ingredient in putting together the Dream Team for the 1992 Olympics. According to David Stern, NBA commissioner, "Everyone gets credit for the NBA, and as CEO I get the most credit. But someone has to run this place, and Russ does that."

As mentioned in an earlier column, the new governor of Oregon is John Kitzhaber. I was sent a few quotes regarding john's style, one of which I now pass along: "He'll be a very thoughtful governor. He'll be one who will look beyond tomorrow. He'll probably be a governor short on speeches but long on sitting down with people and talking"—State Senator Bob Shoemaker. Good luck, John.

All for now. Take care and write.

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