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Who's Who: V. Miller Newton

There is one thing the brand-new chief executive officer of Netkey Inc. does not lack, and that is confidence. V. Miller Newton joined Netkey July 7 and already he predicts the software company will "own" its market within five years.

July 17, 2004

There is one thing the brand-new chief executive officer of Netkey Inc. does not lack, and that is confidence - in himself or in his company.

V. Miller Newton joined Netkey July 7 and already he predicts the management-software company will "own" its market within five years.

V. Miller Newton, Netkey CEO

"I have a passion for the high-growth trajectory of a company. I come in when there is a proven product and team, and take a company to the next level," said Miller. "There is no one dominant player in this space, so there is an opportunity for this company to get aggressive and own it."

Newton is not shy in saying that the fact that Netkey brought in "this level of talent" shows its commitment to the industry. "It shows we will be here."

Newton succeeds Alex Richardson as Netkey CEO. Richardson, founder of Netkey, remains a member of the company's board of directors and will serve as executive vice president for business development. See related story, "Netkey makes CEO change."

Newton has the credentials to back up his prediction. He was executive vice president of sales and marketing for TMP Worldwide, now Monster Worldwide, a global marketing communications company and operator of the monster.com job recruitment Web site. He was instrumental in taking TMPW public in 1996. Newton served as CEO of Monster, where he grew the company from $400,000 to $45 million and from 50 to 230 employees in fewer than 24 months.

Newton was flown in as CEO when Monster was a concept, posting jobs on the Internet for free.

"We had thought about shutting Monster down when we acquired it. What did anyone know about online recruiting," Newton asked. "We also thought about changing the name because we wondered how `monster' would resonate with Fortune 500 companies. Fortunately, we came to our senses on both points," he said. Today Monster is the leading career portal.

After Monster, Newton was chairman and chief executive officer of Boston-based Lavastorm Technologies, originally a professional services company. Under his leadership, the company converted to supplying a revenue-assurance platform to telecom service providers.

The software helps service providers plug the leaks in their revenue streams, Newton explained, and is the premier product in its category.

Why Netkey?

There are three things that excite Newton about his new company. One is that it has a proven platform for building, operating and managing self-service networks, Newton said. The second is Netkey's "marquee" customer list, sporting the likes of America Online, BMW, Borders Books and Music, Disney, E*Trade, Fidelity Investments, Fleet Bank and Publix Super Markets. "[Netkey] is a late-early-stage company. Some companies never see customers like that," he said. The third bonus is Netkey's "high-energy team." "We have super-deep knowledge here. I like the fact that Netkey is known as a pioneer," Newton said.

Another factor that doesn't hurt is that top-tier investors are committed to Netkey for the long term, Newton said.

In general, Newton is drawn to the self-service industry because "it just makes sense." He said that consumers see the technology everywhere and use it in their daily lives. For consumers self-service saves time and offers convenience. For corporations self-service reduces costs and improves customer service. "But the industry is fragmented, and in early stages," he said.

Newton's goals in these early days of his tenure are to meet with customers and technology partners.

"There is always fear of change, but my message is that we are going to do more of what we do well. I'm not going to turn the company on its head," he said.

What Netkey does well, he said, is make its Netkey Manager software. "That is the value customers see in us," Newton said. "We will develop creative ways to distribute it."

He also sees the company growing in the vertical human-resources industry. "We've recently crystallized and packaged HR solutions, which we will market aggressively."

In terms of partnerships, Newton will expand on current relationships with Kiosk Information Systems, IBM, Frank Mayer and Associates, CeroView, Fivepoint, Abuzz, Marcole and Adusa, and he will pursue more.

"We'll partner on all sides; going to market and through the channel. We want to be with the best of class in all areas."

Newton adds, "Quite candidly, we're the piece that puts everything together."