Jack Blount Appointment as OCLC CEO/President Reversed, Jay Jordan Will Stay On

by Josh Hadro
Jun 21, 2012 | Filed in News
Jay Jordan will postpone his retirement to continue on in the positions; the details of this message were confirmed to Library Journal by Cathy De Rosa, Vice President for the Americas and Global Vice President of Marketing.
OCLC's Cathy De Rosa, Vice President for the Americas, has confirmed to LJ the details of a message just sent by OCLC Board of Trustees Chair Larry Alford announcing that former Dynix executive Jack Blount will not take over as CEO and President of the library cooperative as previously announced. Instead, the short message indicated that current President and CEO Jay Jordan would postpone his retirement to continue on in his current role. From Alford's message:
The OCLC Board of Trustees has concluded that rather than moving forward with the appointment of Jack B. Blount as its President and CEO, it is in the best interest of OCLC to have Jay Jordan continue serving in these capacities. Mr. Jordan has agreed to postpone his retirement to continue leading OCLC.
Blount was slated to take over on July 1; no reason was given for the sudden reversal just 12 days after the initial appointment was announced.
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Tak

They must have known about the Queens lawsuit before the announcement--who would have had enough pull to force the Board of OCLC to reverse course??

Posted : Jun 27, 2012 12:25

Mark Andrews

Somebody knows more than they're saying. Let's all listen carefully and see who speaks up....

Posted : Jun 27, 2012 12:25

Floretta

LOL - never try to hide stuff from librarians, we can't resist digging for info like Woodward & Bernstein.

Posted : Jun 24, 2012 12:58

Ellen

How much is this "now you hire him, now you don't" routine going to cost the membership of OCLC? Paying off Jack Blount, paying the headhunter, making it worthwhile to Jay Jordan to come back, starting the recruitment process all over again . . . Crazy stuff.

Posted : Jun 23, 2012 05:27

Barbara

Blount left Dynix in 2005 shortly after the merger. The lawsuit was filed in 2009. This has little, if anything, to do with the OCLC situation.

Posted : Jun 23, 2012 04:27

22 years, 6 libraries, no MLS

That's what I thought at first, too. But if you read the suit, it concerns the behavior of the company(ies) right around the time of the merger. Also worth noting is that Blount stayed on as a member of the board of directors until some time in 2006.

Posted : Jun 23, 2012 04:27

22 years, 6 libraries, no MLS

FWIW, Queens Borough PL and Dynix settled out of court in 2010. http://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/technologyproductsvendors/884206-296/sirsidynixqueens_library_suit_settled_out.html.csp Further research kicked up this: http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/archive/index.php/t-569846.html

Posted : Jun 22, 2012 10:37

Sharon

I'm surprised "the company now known as SirsiDynix" is even still in business. I had to deal with that company for 12 years [a situation I inherited] before we broke free a few years ago. I wouldn't hire those guys to referee a dog fight.

Posted : Jun 22, 2012 03:29

Jackie

You hit the nail on the head, Sharon. And guess when it started?

Posted : Jun 22, 2012 03:29

DrWeb

I wonder if any intrepid reporter tried to get Jack's comments. He has a Web site and e-mail address. It's what the Watergate team would do :) Best, DrWeb

Posted : Jun 22, 2012 01:53

Party of 2PAC

C'mon Library Journal. Let's see some real reporting. What's going on here? We've seen the press release too. And your cover story on the departing Jay Jordan! I can only speculate the cold feet came from the new/old president himself, because so much effort went in to the promotion of the switch? Or did the board have second thoughts about overtly working like a software company?

Posted : Jun 21, 2012 10:07

Mark Andrews

What "22 years..." said. I know nothing, of course, beyond what I can verify in the public literature. So, speculating, does the OCLC board actually have a brain between them collectively? Makes me wonder if the almost-benign dictatorship at Sky River might be a tolerable alternative?

Posted : Jun 21, 2012 08:25

22 years, 6 libraries, no MLS

If you believe that private equity played a role in the downfall of SD, then you can't be sanguine about SkyRiver's prospects: http://lj.libraryjournal.com/2012/03/industry-news/two-equity-firms-make-investment-in-innovative-interfaces-no-management-changes/

Posted : Jun 21, 2012 08:25

Bob's Your Uncle

Typical OCLC. Highhanded. Secretive. Downright uncaring about the library community. So typical.

Posted : Jun 21, 2012 06:08

Mark Andrews

I guess the OCLC board found out about Horizon 8....

Posted : Jun 21, 2012 05:39

Inquiring minds

What happened at Horizon 8? Please tell.

Posted : Jun 21, 2012 05:39

22 years, 6 libraries, no MLS

perhaps it's this: http://www.librarytechnology.org/ltg-displaytext.pl?RC=14288

Posted : Jun 21, 2012 05:39

Mark Andrews

See http://newsbreaks.infotoday.com/nbReader.asp?ArticleId=35701. Other articles are easily found with Google.

Posted : Jun 21, 2012 05:39

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