San Francisco Business Times articles from July 1996

San Francisco Business Times archives from July 1996

Power hungry China courts Bechtel Group.
July 5, 1996... China is seeking U.S. nuclear expertise to help meet the exploding power needs in its fast-growing southern provinces, with Bechtel Group among the companies being courted. A delegation from the fast-growing Fujian Province, which lies on the...

Visa books global travel card. (Visa International)
July 5, 1996... Visa International is launching in earnest a prepaid travel card to leverage its existing Visa/Plus ATM network, its global customer service center and other resources. Visa TravelMoney, launched globally last month after an 18-month pilot...

Jury still out after trial of arbitration at big law firm.(Business of Law)
July 5, 1996... William Quinby packed away his suits last week - in more ways than one. Clad in jeans, the former litigation partner cleaned out his office at Crosby, Healey & Roach. He left Oakland's largest law firm after a three-year attempt to build an...

Hot opportunity for BoFA: money manager to Chile. (Bank of America)
July 5, 1996... Bank of America has moved from consultant to money manager in Chile, taking a stronger role in the nation's 15-year project of privatizing its social security system. The move not only marks a trend in exporting financial and other services...

Goeworks, HotWired answer call for information; companies focus on bringing Internet video to 'smart phones.' (HotWired Inc.)
July 5, 1996... Companies focus on bringing Internet video to 'smart phones' Geoworks, a maker of software for the next generation of cellular phones, has begun working with HotWired Inc. to provide flashes of read-as-you-run information on video screens...

Eastern operation gives law firm a Silicon implant. (Pillsbury Madison and Sutro's merger with Silicon Valley-based Cushman, Darby and Cushman)(Business of Law)
July 5, 1996... At times, Al Pepin's voice barely traverses the width of his desk as he outlines his vision of his firm's future. Even so, a sense of almost grim determination fills Pepin's sunlit corner office in the Chevron Building as he details giant...

Apple's record of repriced options: rotten to the core. (Apple Computer Inc.)
July 5, 1996... Some companies simply refuse to play the pay game fairly. And one of them is Apple Computer Inc. Consider your standard executive stock option. Today's market price is, say, $50 per share. So today, executives are given the right, but not the...

Accountancy thrives on balance. (Burr Pilger and Mayer)(Small Business Growth Strategies)(Company Profile)
July 5, 1996... When Stephen Mayer and his partners, Henry Pilger and Curtis Burr, founded Burr, Pilger & Mayer in 1986, they had three goals: to establish a full-service accounting firm, to make an active commitment to the community, and "third, but not least,"...

BofA changes its focus to cost cutting. (Bank of America)
July 12, 1996... BankAmerica appears poised to institute a cost-cutting program similar in fashion to that of cross-town rival Wells Fargo. In an effort to maximize shareholder returns, the San Francisco-based bank is in the midst of reconsidering the future of...

Chevron inks $2B agreement. (Chevron Overseas Petroleum Inc.)
July 12, 1996... Chevron Overseas Petroleum Inc. has taken over operations of the prolific Boscan oil fields in Venezuela, becoming the largest private oil field operator in that country and charting new territory in its international petroleum ventures. In a...

Filmmaker rolls as jewelry designer. (Jenai Lane)
July 12, 1996... After college, Jenai Lane pursued an interest in documentary filmmaking. She worked as a freelance producer and director and had a job with a film development company. Film work was cyclical, however, and during down-times, Lane started dabbling...

Grubb & Ellis merges with Stubbs, Collenette: national giant looks for boost from young upstart firm. (Stubbs, Collenette and Associates Inc. joins Grubb and Ellis Co.)
July 19, 1996... Grubb & Ellis Co. is joining forces with Stubbs, Collenette & Associates in a merger that promises to rattle the hierarchy of downtown commercial real estate brokerage firms. Terms of the July 11 deal call for Stubbs, Collenette to fold its...

BofA cashes in on global reach. (trade banking and international finance spurs growth of Bank of America)
July 19, 1996... Capitalizing on booming global trade, Bank of America has turned international finance into one of its leading sources of growth. The San Francisco-based bank has nearly doubled its trade business in the past three years after launching a...

Big Blue plays games in S.F. (IBM Multimedia Studios moves to San Francisco and will specialize in computer games)
July 19, 1996... IBM Corp. has moved a multimedia production office to San Francisco as part of its effort to become one of the top makers of computer games. IBM Multimedia Studios executive producer Paul Zuzelo said he had moved his operation from its cramped...

Wells Fargo unveils new system of checks and balances. (Wells Fargo Bank Internet bill payment service)
July 19, 1996... Wells Fargo Bank is further hitching its legendary stagecoach to the Internet with the introduction of its new bill payment service. The nation's eighth-largest bank is concentrating its online efforts on the Internet even though it does offer...

Importer maps out uncharted territory. (expansion plans of importer Cost Plus Inc.)
July 26, 1996... Success of foreign furnishings and food in West pushes retailer Cost Plus toward expansion on East Coast With $30 million from an April public stock offering, Cost Plus Inc. is embarked on the biggest expansion in its 38-year history. The...

Front runner in the back office. (company profile of Advent Software Inc.)(Company Profile)
July 26, 1996... Advent Software pulls investment record-keeping into information age When Stephanie DiMarco began her career at the money management firm Marin Cole Financial Group, she was amazed by the company's record-keeping system. It was manual. She...

Alburger buys Willis Corroon unit. (Alburger Basso de Grosz Insurance Services Inc., Willis Corroon Group Plc.)
July 26, 1996... In a reversal of fortune, one of the largest independent insurance brokerages in Northern California has acquired the Sacramento unit of giant Willis Corroon Group Plc. Belmont-based Alburger Basso de Grosz Insurance Services Inc. last month...

Answering the cry for help from computer victims. (company profile of Remedy Corp.)(Company Profile)
July 26, 1996... Remedy puts the help into corporate computer help desks It all began with three competitors, two venture capitalists and a common frustration: computer help desks. After a month of brainstorming - from sticky notes in the living room to...

Joint venture seeks to make multimedia multilingual. (Point Asia Inc., GECAP)
July 26, 1996... Two high-tech translation companies have formed a joint venture that will link California's multimedia and software companies to markets worldwide. San Rafael-based Point Asia Inc. has joined forces with GECAP, the world's leading software...

Executive profile: John Martin. (Gilead Sciences' president and CEO John Martin)
July 26, 1996... PERSONAL INFORMATION Name: John Martin. Company: Gilead Sciences. Title: President and CEO. Education: Bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from Purdue University; Ph.D. in organic chemistry from University of Chicago; MBA in...

Beyond profits: office supplier invests in community. (profile on office supply company Give Something Back)(Company Profile)
July 26, 1996... Five years ago, Mike Hannigan and Sean Marx left their jobs at a copy machine dealership to launch Give Something Back, a business products and printing company that donates its total net profit to community organizations. Hannigan and Marx...

Past keeps high-flying Internet exec down to earth. (NetManage's founder and CEO Zvi Alon)
July 26, 1996... NetManage, a Cupertino supplier of software applications that bring Internet technology to the desktop, was recently ranked by Fortune as the fastest-growing software company in the nation. In the past three years, revenues have increased from $5...

Happy days are here again for real estate.(Commercial Real Estate Leasing Guide 1996.)(Industry Overview)
July 26, 1996... The Bay Area commercial real estate market is boiling over with deals, making it increasingly difficult for companies to find the office space they need. Rental rates and vacancy levels are approaching their best marks in more than a decade in...