Although Dr Mercer has gone, there are still 4 "Doctors" (i.e. people with Doctorates) in senior TIS management positions (their website lists 4 doctors, 2 accountants and one generalist). You may ask, "These are intelligent people - they shouldn't have let this debacle develop in the first place..?" The key to the problem is that these people have the mindset of a researcher, not a manager.
My experience working in universities for almost 20 years is that having a PhD or other doctorate qualification doesn't mean that you are intelligent (or wise, or honest). It doesn't even mean that you have common sense. It just means that you are patient (unhurried?) in your work and you are good at reading and writing.
And when it comes to running an international business like TIS, that demands hard-nosed decisions, action and outcomes, academics who have spent years walking, talking, reading and writing in the cloistered environs of a top university are not up to the task.
Trust me, having dealt with many Professors, Deans and Heads of Schools, universities are not good training grounds for business people. They are absorbed in the PROCESS, not the OUTCOMES. They are good at doing things, but not that concerned about achieving things. You can hide in a university for years doing lots of research and never make a meaningful discovery. This includes all applied research. The best way to hide is to do surveys, analyse the results, and publish the findings along with a press release. e.g. Researchers have found that "57% of people who smoke have racist tendencies..." etc. (and universities like researchers who can get their name in the press.)
So much for my rant on researchers... Now back to business.
Professor Zee Upton (another doctor) was the lead VitroGro researcher and one of the "senior management" team at TIS. Has been for years. As the person in the company with the MOST knowledge and understanding of VitroGro Ms Upton was most certainly in a position to advise Mercer correctly and make sure questions were answered. Where has she been for the last 12 months. Drawing a salary no doubt, but what has her contribution been? What has she got to say about the recent debacle? Is she away at another conference? And where were the other doctors on the management team? How often did they even bother to come into the office???????
Another is Dr. Hedie Meka (Director - Regulatory and Intellectual Property). Supposedly super experienced at regulatory issues. What has she been doing for the last 3 years? Why does she still have her job?
I sure hope TIS starts looking at people's actual achievements rather than their list of awards. TIS needs MANAGERs who can spot a problem and fix it - not people who are good at reading and writing and collecting degrees.
TIS needs to become a real business, not a pleasant place for researchers to while away the hours playing at running a business.
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