Ted waitt biography

With this financing, a vacant office on the family cattle farm, and two aliases due to noncompete clauses in their contracts with Century Systemsthey started business in as TIPC Network. Waitt was the sole owner at first; after six months his brother Norman became a 45 percent owner and financial manager he later became a silent partner. Hammond was the technical expert, while Waitt drove the marketing and strategic vision.

Waitt's strategy for selling PCs was simple: provide the most bang for the buck, which Waitt called the "value equation. To keep prices low, Waitt strove to keep costs and overhead to a minimum. PCs were assembled after they were ordered, and the inventory of components was kept very low, reducing storage costs and allowing Gateway to always offer current technology.

Gateway had no research and development budget at all. As the company grew, Waitt kept it in the low-cost area, moving across the border to South Dakota where there was no personal- or corporate- income tax. Waitt also kept marketing and advertising in-house. From the beginning he emphasized Gateway's unusual location by asking, "Computers from Iowa?

Waitt designed, executed ted waitt biography in-house and local helpand starred in several unusual ads, with Robin Hoodsaloon, and other themes not related to PCs. These ads went against the consventional wisdom of the advertising world, but they were very effective. Waitt was the visionary behind most of these ads, gambling on his instincts and winning.

Waitt's instincts also guided crucial decisions regarding which products and features to offer. In the rapidly evolving PC business, the timing of bringing new technologies to market was crucial for success. Waitt's gut feelings, supported by the knowledge derived from the company's direct contact with consumers, seemed almost foolproof.

Gateway was the first to offer many features as standard on their systems, including color monitors and CD-ROM drives. These new technologies, offered at a price comparable to or even lower than the competition in the burgeoning PC market, fueled Gateway's tremendous growth in the early s. In Gateway moved to a new 44,square-foot production facility and suffered order backlogs and quality problems due to the explosive growth.

In February Waitt hired several managers from Compaq to set up quality-assurance programs and help with the transition from a small operation to a large company with thousands of employees.

Ted waitt biography: Theodore William "Ted" Waitt (born

Gateway started selling software and peripherals such as printers and also worked to improve support for corporate buyers. Shortages of sales and support staff and order backlogs were still concerns, but low costs and overhead enabled Waitt to keep a 9 to 10 percent profit margin on the still-increasing sales. At the end of Waitt decided to turn Gateway into a publicly traded company.

From todespite a few down quarters, Waitt, now CEO and board chairman, expanded Gateway's sales, staff, facilities, reach, and focus. It entered the world markets, building production facilities in Ireland and Malaysia. Gateway Country Stores, showrooms offering support, service, and training, debuted in and grew to the hundreds in the United States and 40 overseas.

Gateway tried to increase its revenue from sales to large businesses, with mixed success. In35 percent of U. Waitt, recognizing that the PC business was changing, shifted Gateway to a diversification "hexagon strategy," which included systems, software and peripherals, service and training, Internet access, portals and content, and financing.

Gateway was the first to "bundle" PCs with software, printers, and other peripherals as a package. In Gateway became an Internet service provider for its customers, later making a deal with AOL to administer Gateway. Gateway also instituted the YourWare program, which offered PC financing, software, Internet access, service, and a trade-in option for a fixed monthly charge.

To achieve these goals and manage the growth of Gateway, Waitt brought in a succession of executives and managers from other companies. Infeeling that a drastic change was needed to continue Gateway's growth, Waitt changed the Gateway name to simply Gateway, moved the company's headquarters to the San Diego area in order to attract more executive talent, and replaced 10 of the 14 top-level executives.

Ted waitt biography: Ted Waitt is the.

Waitt and Weitzen worked closely together the next two years, becoming close friends and collaborators. Through the first half ofeverything seemed to be going smoothly, with Waitt serving as board chairman and long-range visionary. After a disastrous performance in the second half of the year, however, Waitt ousted Weitzen and was reinstated as CEO on January 24, Weitzen had attempted to change the corporate culture through very unpopular policies, which lowered morale and caused many long-term employees to quit.

He also instituted commission and support policies that cost millions and hurt customer satisfaction. Anticipating continued growth in the market, Weitzen opened more than a hundred new Gateway Country Stores and stockpiled a large inventory for the holiday season. Waitt became increasingly frustrated with Weitzen's decisions through the year, culminating in Weitzen's retirement in January.

Waitt immediately fired eight top managers, rehired or reinstated his earlier staff, and revoked a series of initiatives and policies.

Ted waitt biography: Theodore William "Ted" Waitt

Gateway entered a long period of retrenchment and rein-vention. Waitt declared a "back to basics" plan in"selling one computer, one customer, at a time" FortuneApril 30, However, the lower demand and slim-to-nonexistent margins on PC sales resulted in a new emphasis on other products and services a short time later. Your email address will not be published.

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Skip to content Ted Waitt - famouspeoplefacts. Posted in Businessman. No Comments. Their unique marketing approach, which included selling computers directly to consumers, set them apart from traditional retail models. Over the years, the company expanded significantly, and Ted's leadership saw Gateway through various transitions, including moving operations to California and acquiring other companies like eMachines.

Despite stepping back from the CEO role inhe returned to guide Gateway through challenging times before resigning in after two decades at the helm. The eventual acquisition of Gateway by Acer Inc. Share with friends Link copied. He originally joined the Salk Board of Trustees in and has served in numerous roles while donating millions of dollars to the institute.

Waitt is married to former model Michele Merkin. Waitt's eldest daughter, Hailey, is married to former soccer player Jordan Gafa. Waitt was romantically linked to Ghislaine Maxwellafter she ended her relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. In he bought the Malibu, California residence of designer James Perse. Waitt was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of South Dakota.

Business Week named Waitt one of America's 50 most generous philanthropists due to his work with the Waitt Foundation. Established in[ 15 ] the Foundation initially focused on domestic violence prevention and community development.

Ted waitt biography: Founder and chairman, Gateway.

The Waitt Institute is a founding member, along with National Geographic Pristine Seas, Oceans 5, and Dynamic Planet, of the Blue Prosperity Coalition [ 16 ] which aims to support governments in sustainable oceans management by providing financing, expertise, and tools to create marine protected areas MPA. On 18 Decemberthe William J. Clinton Foundation released a list of all contributors.

Contents move to sidebar hide. Article Talk. Read Edit View history.