March 22, 2007 | Read Time: 1 minute
Until just over a month ago, Harry E. Gruber was both president and chief executive officer of the fund-raising software company he founded, Kintera. But the man who replaced him as president of the struggling company in February, Richard N. LaBarbera, will take over as CEO as well, Kintera has announced.
Under Mr. Gruber’s leadership, Kintera became a publicly traded company in 2003.
He earned a reputation over the years as an aggressive executive, buying up dozens of smaller software companies during his tenure.
But his company struggled to make a profit: Its stock, which traded at $10.30 per share on its opening day and reached a high of $18 per share, now trades at less than $2. In addition, as of September 30, the company had accumulated a deficit of $118.2-million.
Mr. Gruber could not be reached for comment. He will continue to serve on the company’s board of directors.
About the company’s future, Mr. LaBarbera says, “Clearly, there’s a lot to digest at Kintera, based on the acquisitions that we’ve done.”
He says Kintera has integrated most of its acquisitions into the larger company, although it may have to retire some software options.
He adds that instead of buying more companies — as rival software companies have done recently — Kintera will focus on its geographic reach. The company, based in San Diego, has branches in eight other major cities and wants to expand services in those places.
