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Wednesday, December 8, 2010
The Mover
New Memento CEO O'Malley sees opportunity for growth
By Marc Songini, Special to Mass High Tech
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John O’Malley
CEO of Memento Inc.
Location: Burlington
Previous position: President and CEO of Harland Financial Solutions Inc.
Education: Computer science degree from New York University.
John O’Malley’s specialty is bringing startup firms to the next level to grow in the market.
Great entrepreneurs come up with ideas to create competitive companies and then someone with business know-how steps in and gives them a boost for commercialization, he explains. Currently, that’s his task for Burlington-based Memento Inc., an enterprise fraud management company. He took the role of CEO last month, replacing founder BC Krishna, who will remain as active adviser and board member.
O’Malley, 54, executes the “classic turnaround” moves to assist companies that have reached a certain plateau and face growth or stagnation. In Memento’s case, the firm has had a “great start and it’s time get it to the level of commercialization,” he said. The key to success is understanding the company’s value proposition.
He said, “Organizations have a problem grasping and executing when they can’t define what the core competence is, what is the differentiation, and how to drive the advantage to the customer. If you sort it out and define it and get the execution, then things are going to happen.”
O’Malley has been in high tech for 20 years, with a strong concentration in banking. Previously, he was president and CEO of Florida-based software and services provider Harland Financial Solutions Inc. While there, he oversaw its multi-unit growth from a $17 million firm to a $300 million one.
Initially, he worked in the check printing operations at Harland. However, he saw an opportunity to diversify into applications and special services. By getting Harland “aligned to the marketplace,” it was able to approach much larger financial companies and win accounts.
Technology drew O’Malley’s interest from a young age — as a hobby, he liked to tear televisions apart and rebuild them. Later, he earned a degree in computer engineering from New York University.
It was a natural progression to enter the computer industry, and he initially dove into engineering, later entering management. During the 1980s, while living in Massachusetts, he became executive vice president of international operations for Hogan Systems, until its buyout by Computer Sciences Corp. He then “became a corporate gypsy,” and lived in various places overseas until settling in Florida while working at Harland.
Now, he has taken the reins at Memento. The company offers a managed bundling that includes software, services and training via an annual subscription. Memento helps “fingerprint activities and looks for patterns to detect” fraudulent behavior. Memento’s applications mine data from a variety of sources, including phone records, building access cards, employee application usage, transactions and inquiries. Often fraudsters need an insider to assist them, as well, and Memento’s offerings help to pinpoint the tell-tale activity around collusion.
O’Malley expects a steady stream of customers for Memento. “There’s always someone trying to find a better way to beat the system,” he noted, just as hackers will always create new viruses.
“Scammers will keep scamming and we’ll keep trying to fight it.”
Memento must evolve into new channels, as well. However, in the short-term, O’Malley will focus on further penetrating the financial industry. Memento has established some momentum, and he expects in the first quarter it should be ready to start execution. Memento anticipates “demonstrable growth” quickly after that. As the finance industry consolidates, Memento will expand to match its capabilities to the largest enterprises. Down the line, Memento may also deploy its offerings in a software-as-a-service format.
The main objective is to grow, and after that, Memento will consider its long-term options. As of right now, there’s no need for additional outside funds, as the investors will “continue to make capital available to us as we need it to grow,” he says. There isn’t a defined exit strategy yet, either, says O’Malley. “We’ll focus on how to grow the company and make it as large and strong as it can be, and see what happens downstream.”
Marc Songini is a freelance writer in Mansfield.
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