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Building an 800-lb. gorilla - My Chung of Spirent Communications

Communications News, Sept, 2001 by Ken Anderberg

Spirent's My Chung tests growth strategy.

My Chung is not finished building his 800-pound gorilla. After a more than 2-1/2-year, literally mind-numbing acquisition binge in the telecommunications and product-testing market, the president of Spirent Communications says he has more in store.

The list is impressive for the 49-year-old son of Chinese immigrants.

In 1999, barely a year after being named to head the largest division of Spirent plc, he spearheaded the acquisitions of DSL TestWorks of Ottawa, Canada, and SmartBits of Calabasas, CA. DSL TestWorks gave Spirent Communications a leadership position in xDSL test equipment, while SmartBits (formerly Netcom Systems) added network performance analysis systems used by network equipment manufacturers, network service providers, enterprises and test laboratories.

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Last year, Chung and Spirent accelerated the pace, acquiring Zarak Systems of Sunnyvale, CA, Net-HOPPER of Norcross, GA, and Hekimian of Rockville, MD. Zarak designs and manufactures voice-traffic test equipment. Net-HOPPER specializes in network test access systems for both the enterprise and telecommunications markets. Hekimian, the most recent acquisition, is focused on next-generation network performance products for communications providers.

Those additions come on the heels of Spirent Communications buying Adtech, Honolulu, in 1996 and Telecom Analysis (TAS), Eatontown, NJ, in 1995. Adtech manufactures high-performance test systems for the telecommunications industry, and TAS provides test instruments and systems for developers, manufacturers and evaluators of advanced wireless and wireline network access equipment.

The chiseled Chung, who obviously spends quality time in the weight room and likes to box, is the energetic leader of all this frantic activity. He prefers the term "coach" and refers to his assembled management group as the "Dream Team." He freely admits that his dream of growing Spirent Communications is not yet complete.

HIGH-GROWTH STRATEGY

United Kingdom-based Bowthorpe plc, the parent company of Spirent, embarked on its current strategy to focus on high-growth, high-margin, high-technology businesses when Nicholas Brookes came on board as CEO in 1996. Brookes hired Chung away from TTC in July 1998 to implement this new growth paradigm.

When Brookes asked him to come on board, "I looked at the situation," Chung recalls, "and I said, 'Here's my opportunity to grow something.' The first major acquisition we did, the first execution of the strategy, was Netcom Systems."

The price was high--$464 million--but the move prevented Netcom from fulfilling its planned IPO and created a complementary fit with the earlier acquisition of Adtech. "The combination of the two put us in the leading position on overall broadband, LAN, WAN testing," Chung says. It was the largest deal Bowthorpe had ever done, he adds. "Lucky for us, it panned out."

Hard work and careful planning undoubtedly have more to do with that success than luck. Chung comes by those attributes from his family and cultural heritage. His parents immigrated to the U.S. from Canton, China, in the 1940s, settling in western Pennsylvania, where they first tried farming.

While he was born on that farm, Chung's family soon moved to East Orange, NJ, where his parents opened a laundry business. Chung remembers ironing shirts at six years of age, and working at the family business to help put himself through college at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. His parents--working long hours and weekends, and saving their money for their children's futures--managed to see that all 11 children made it through college.

"They taught us a tremendous amount in terms of values," Chung says of his parents. "They worked for so long and were big on savings; that was part of the culture, that kind of discipline. They would work all day long and on the weekends and put it away. Clearly, my Dad was a role model in terms of his determination and willingness to succeed."

THE MANAGEMENT PHILOSOPHY

Those lessons were not lost on Chung, who is known for his meticulous planning and preparation, as well as his team approach to management.

"We have created a group structure where there is no bureaucracy," he says. "We view our jobs purely to lead and facilitate, not to manage or run the (individual) businesses. We do want this to come together as one team, because that's what it's all about. It's not just picking the best because, eventually, the only way you win is if you get them to play together.

"Our role is purely as coaches, as leaders pulling people together and sharing with them what we believe we can create by working as a team, as opposed to individuals--and then just letting everyone go and do it."

Chung currently has his team focused on two business growth directions. The first relates to telecommunications testing, predominantly for the lab space, developers and evaluators; the second focuses on the network management service assurance area.

Technology Industry

Building an 800-lb. gorilla - My Chung of Spirent Communications

Communications News, Sept, 2001 by Ken Anderberg

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