Technology >> CEO Interviews >> October 11, 2004
MICHAEL TOPOLOVAC has served as Chief Executive Officer of Arena
Solutions, Inc., since founding the company in 2000. Drawing on an
extensive background in product design and manufacturing and an old-
school understanding of what it takes to build a profitable business,
Mr. Topolovac has successfully guided the company through what is widely
acknowledged to be one of the most challenging economic times ever for
the manufacturing and enterprise software industries. His vision to
deliver cost-effective, enterprise-class PLM to manufacturers and their
global supply chains'by using an innovative 'Web-native' software
architecture to leverage the universal accessibility of the
Internet'continues to be the driving force behind the company. Thanks to
this vision and to Mr. Topolovac's strategic direction, Arena has
emerged as the leading provider of online PLM solutions. Before founding
Arena, Mr. Topolovac founded and served for 10 years as Chief Executive
Officer of Light & Motion Industries (LMI), the world's leading
manufacturer of high-performance underwater video, photo and lighting
products for consumer markets. Mr. Topolovac led LMI's evolution from a
supplier of underwater lights to a vertically integrated manufacturer of
a full line of underwater imaging products. While there, Mr. Topolovac
developed a custom PLM application that has run the company's operations
for the past 10 years. This system became the prototype for the Arena
PLM product. An avid scuba diver and ardent still photographer, Mr.
Topolovac has traveled, dived and photographed throughout the world. He
holds a Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering/Product Design from
Stanford University, where he has also taught product design. Profile
business is today?
Mr. Topolovac: Arena represents the emergence of two categories. There
is the category of what we do,
