Technology >> CEO Interviews >> March 11, 2003

Joel Kocher – Interland Inc (inld)

JOEL J. KOCHER is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Interland, Inc. He has successfully led the company's transformation and acquisition strategies, cementing its position as the leader in the growing Web services industry. A technology veteran with more than 20 years of industry-leading experience, Mr. Kocher boasts credentials in operations, sales and marketing. As Chairman and CEO of Micron Electronics, Inc., and its Web hosting subsidiary HostPro, Inc., Mr. Kocher engineered the acquisition of Interland in August 2001. Mr. Kocher joined Micron Electronics in 1998 and is credited with transforming the traditional PC manufacturer into a leading Internet services company. In less than two years, he built HostPro into one of the world's largest hosting companies through strategic acquisitions and strong organic growth. From 1996 to 1997 he was President and Chief Operating Officer of Power Computing Corporation, the first and largest manufacturer of Macintosh OS compatible systems. There he led worldwide sales and marketing and was responsible for developing and launching the world's fastest and highest- performing Mac OS workstations. At Dell Computer from 1987 to 1994, Mr. Kocher served as President of Worldwide Marketing, Sales and Service and acted as the key architect of Dell's sales growth from $100 million in 1987 to more than $3.6 billion by late 1994. Mr. Kocher championed moving the company's core focus to the corporate enterprise market and is recognized for building Dell's successful direct sales and marketing engine. Mr. Kocher holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing from the University of Florida. Profile
TWST: Could we begin with a brief historical sketch of Interland

along with a picture of what you've been doing lately?

Mr. Kocher: First and foremost, we've been out to build a