Diasonics shuffles managementafter CEO Bruce Moore resigns

Ishrak heads Milpitas product development

Continuity is a key theme emphasized by Diasonics Ultrasound officials,who are recovering from the surprise resignation of Bruce Moore,the chief executive widely credited with the manufacturer's resurgenceand its merger with Elscint parent Elbit of Israel.

Moore announced his departure during the 1994 Christmas holiday,according to Kathleen Curia, marketing director. His resignationwas effective Jan. 31. Elbit announced the change late last month.

Elbit CEO Emmanuel Gill assumes the position of Diasonics presidentand CEO and will be based in Haifa, but management responsibilitiesfor Diasonics remain largely with staff in its Milpitas, CA, headquarters,according to Diasonics officials. Most of Moore's responsibilitieswere split between his long-time associates Omar Ishrak and MehmetSalahi. Ishrak was promoted to senior vice president of productdevelopment and marketing. The new position adds an internationalflavor to his previous duties as vice president of product development.

As the new general manager of ultrasound operations, Salahisupervises scanner manufacturing in Milpitas. He formerly managedultrasound transducer operations.

Oded Tamir was transferred from Elbit offices at Hackensack,NJ, to Milpitas as corporate vice president of finance. Tamirfilled a post vacated by former Diasonics CFO Shawn O'Connor,who departed last November (SCAN 12/14/94).

Moore could not be reached for comment. Speaking for her formerboss, Curia said Moore decided he had accomplished his objectivessince taking the helm of Diasonics' ultrasound operations in 1991.

"He is looking to do something bigger and a little different,"she said.

Moore is widely credited for resuscitating the company aftera series of bad product decisions. Under his leadership, Diasonics'high-performance platform was strengthened by substantial productintroductions about every nine months. Innovations included confocalimaging, matched-impedance transducers and UltrasoundAngio, thefirst amplitude-based color Doppler system to gain widespreadacceptance.

Moore also helped orchestrate the 1992 reorganization of Diasonicsinto three independent publicly traded companies. In July 1994,he negotiated the sale of the firm to Elbit for $70 million (SCAN7/27/94).

Diasonics revenues in 1993 totaled $195.4 million. Althoughshe declined to release 1994 financials, Curia said the company'sperformance was $5 million ahead of last year's plan.

Ishrak pledged to carry on Moore's policies.

"The strategy we embarked on a few years ago, which wethink was successful in capturing additional market share, willcontinue," he said. "The management of Diasonics resideshere in the hands of myself, Mehmet and Tamir."

Ishrak denied that a clash between the Elbit's Israeli andDiasonics' Californian cultures may have contributed to Moore'sdeparture.

"If there had been a clash of cultures, I wouldn't stillbe here," he said.