San Francisco Business Times articles from February 1996

San Francisco Business Times archives from February 1996

Del Monte Foods to can 150 employees.
February 23, 1996... Caught in a depressed packaged-foods market and expensive debt squeeze, San Francisco's Del Monte Foods will lay off 150 administrative and research employees - nearly 20 percent of its salaried work force. The $1.5 billion processed food...

Levi's $850 million stitch in time: implementation of huge restructuring begins. (Levi Strauss and Co.)
February 23, 1996... Levi Strauss & Co. is implementing an overhaul of its relationships with distributors and suppliers, the first test of a comprehensive restructuring of the company that is expected to take six years and $850 million to complete. Levi's said...

Health software firm seeks to feel better with $19 million IPO. (Health Systems Design Corp.; initial public offering)
February 23, 1996... Health Systems Design Corp., an Oakland-based developer of software for the managed care industry, has fried for an IPO that could gamer close to $19 million. In addition, the company's CEO and president could each pocket as much as $550,000...

S.F. lights brighter and rents lower, software firm says. (San Francisco, California; InPower Inc.)
February 23, 1996... InPower Inc., a software company spun off from Integral Systems of Walnut Creek, is moving to San Francisco and creating 160 jobs. Attracted by cheaper rents, InPower will set up its new headquarters at 525 Market St. The company will occupy...

Executive profile. (Shaman Pharmaceuticals President and CEO Lisa Conte)
February 23, 1996... PERSONAL INFORMATION Name: Lisa Conte. Company: Shaman Pharmaceuticals. Title: President and CEO. Education: Bachelor's degree in biochemistry and an MBA from Dartmouth College, master's degree in physiology/pharmacology from UC San...

Sharper Image Corp. (Proxy Report Excerpts)(Company Profile)
February 23, 1996... NASDAQ: SHRP 650 Davis St. San Francisco (415) 445-1574 UPDATE The Sharper Image began as a mail-order shopping company and moved into the retail market in the mid '80s. The company sells about 1,000 items ranged between $15 and $3,000,...

Kaiser Permanente shuffles players in executive suite.
February 16, 1996... In a dramatic shakeup of its senior-executive team, Kaiser Permanente has appointed a national chief operating officer and, in effect, demoted its two top regional executives in California. David Pockell, the top-ranking executive in Kaiser's...

Transamerica exodus continues. (relocates real estate tax service division to Dallas, TX)
February 16, 1996... Yet another piece of S.F. company is sent packing In an effort to cut costs, Transamerica Corp. will move its real estate tax service division from San Francisco to Dallas beginning later this year. The relocation is the latest in a series...

Air Touch takes aim at 4 new nations. (AirTouch Communications Inc.)
February 16, 1996... Already buoyed by its explosive international growth, AirTouch Communications is on the verge of setting up operations in four more foreign countries: Brazil, Taiwan, Poland and Czechoslovakia. The San Francisco-based wireless communications...

Geneticist's career makes U-turn. (Daniel Davidson)(Company Profile)
February 16, 1996... A geneticist with a degree from UC Berkeley, Daniel Davidson founded Genetrix Inc., a genetic-disease testing company, and Seren Agricorp, an agricultural-genetics enterprise. But after nearly a decade in the biotech business, Davidson wanted...

Turning glitterless businesses into gold. (Frederick Oshay, chief executive officer of Hoffmeyer Co.)
February 16, 1996... For Frederick Oshay, entrepreneurship has meant buying companies instead of starting them, and focusing on nuts-and-bolts businesses. "I go for low-tech or no-tech industrial businesses in niche markets," Oshay said. Oshay owned a...