| steward for the union so that he understood
and empathized with what unions stand for. "In 11 months we went from the lowest performance technical facility group to number three. The union president and I became friends. He wouldn't let anyone in the union take advantage of the company, and I wouldn't let anyone in management take advantage of the union." When he took an early retirement from Western Union in the mid-1980s, he was senior vice president of the Government Systems Division, responsible for computers and communication equipment that Western Union leased to the government. Not content with retirement, he went to work for General Defense as vice president, responsible for two manufacturing operations in Florida, one that made jet engine parts and the other that made pedestals that help point radar antennas. "They had lost $2 million when I went to work there. My second year the company made $2 million," he said. He next went to work for Mid-Atlantic Medical Services (MAMSI) as president of one of the company's subsidiaries. At the time he went to work there, the company was bankrupt, a fact company officials didn't realize. "The company had a lot of money, but it had more claims to be paid than money," he said. "The first quarter I was there the company was down by $2 million. By the end of the year, it made $500,000. At the end of 10 years we had 100,000 customers. We grew from $100 million to $1.2 billion." Jochum said that MAMSI was one of 25 different HMOs in the area, and the company's goal was to outgrow them. "We were very unusual because we offered reasonable costs and had a large delivery area. We did it by keeping administrative costs to 8 or 9 percent. The average for such a company was 15-20 percent, so we could give better benefits," he said. In January 1998 Jochum received an honorary doctorate of humane letters from Towson University in Baltimore, Md. Jochum retired from MAMSI in 1999, and this time, he thought he was really retired. He and his wife, Cris, began to invest in start-up companies that they believed had great potential. "Some of these companies had bad management, and I lost my investments. Cris and I decided that if I was going to invest in a company, I should become part of the management," he said. He first invested in HealthyPetNet, founded by Dennis and Carol Berardi in Florida and became their CEO. The Berardis, long-time friends of Dr. Sears, asked him if he would help formulate a dog food based on his Zone principles. Dr. Sears went down to Florida to talk with them and happened to meet Jochum during his visit. The rest, as they say, was history. Jochum invested in Sears Labs and became its CEO. Jochum remains a road warrior, traveling from his home in Maryland most weeks to spend four days at Sears Labs in Danvers, Mass. "I felt Sears Labs looked like a reasonably good investment, and I was impressed with Barry. It's obvious that this has been a good marriage," Jochum said. Dr. Sears goes even further. "I feel that having George coming on board was the turning event for Sears Labs. I also feel great since it allows George to combine his passions for management and health care into an enterprise that is destined for a great impact on how health care will be delivered in this century," Dr. Sears said. |