San Diego-Based GERS Retail Systems Names James Henderson As Its New President And Chief Executive Officer

Furniture World Magazine

GERS Retail Systems, a leading supplier of enterprise-wide relational database solutions for the retail industry, is pleased to announce that James Henderson has been named the company's new President and CEO. Henderson assumes the position from Gary C. Reif, who will continue in his role as Chairman of the Board. Henderson was selected after an exhaustive search with one of the finest executive recruitment firms in the technology field, and is a welcome addition to the GERS executive team of officers, Dennis Conforto, Mike Larkin and Rich Harmatiuk, who will remain in their current positions. GERS is on the path of major growth and opportunity with many exciting changes planned for the coming year. "Jim's background is both interesting and diverse and fills many of GERS' needs as a growing company," said GERS Chairman of the Board Gary Reif. "Jim's business beliefs will fit perfectly into GERS' culture as he is very people-centric and clearly believes our basic philosophy that 'our most important asset is our people'." Henderson, a graduate of Rice University in Houston, began his career as a Systems Engineer at IBM, later transferring to the sales department and a number of sales management roles, eventually earning the title of Worldwide Group Director of Application Enabling Software. In that position, Henderson was responsible for over $3 billion in product revenue - over 30% of IBM's total software revenues. Additionally while at IBM, he presided over a large field sales, support and service operation with 1,800 employees that led the nation in revenue achievement over plan. Since leaving IBM, Henderson has held increasingly larger operating and senior management positions at Dun & Bradstreet Software, QMS, National Data Corporation, and Simione Central. These positions have given him significant exposure to operations, strategic planning, mergers and acquisitions, as well as product development, customer support, and sales and marketing operations in both profitable and turnaround positions. While employed at both Dun & Bradstreet and QMS, Henderson revamped and grew their European operations, and built strong Asian partnerships and distribution channels. Additionally, he has also been a central figure in several public offerings. Reif began his association with GERS in 1974 and had held the position of President since 1983. Since then he has directed the development and design of GERS' applications and was recognized as the 1994 Entrepreneur of the Year in San Diego for his innovative methods in software development and business management. Built within an Oracle relational database to facilitate optimal growth and flexibility, the GERS Sequel System, a comprehensive management tool, alleviates retailers of manual tasks by providing real-time automation of integral daily tasks such as sales, inventory, merchandising, and accounting. Optional modules allow retailers to expand their system to incorporate hot new technologies including Radio Frequency Warehousing, and Sequel Truck Routing Interface. San Diego-based GERS Retail Systems provides fully integrated, Open Systems computer solutions software, hardware, and comprehensive training for hardlines, softlines, department stores, Home Furnishings retailers, and Consumer Electronics/Wireless retail operations. For more information on GERS e-mail at gersinfo@gers.com