Technology >> CEO Interviews >> June 11, 2001

Erik Van Der Kaay – Datum, Inc. (datm)

ROBERT KRIST is Chief Financial Officer and Vice President of Datum, Inc. He joined Datum from Bridge Medical, Inc., a closely held medical information technology company in Solana Beach, California, where he most recently served as Chief Financial Officer. While at Bridge Medical, he established internal controls for financial management of the start-up and successfully guided the company through two rounds of private equity financing, totaling $61 million. His broad background also includes six years at McGaw, Inc., an Irvine, California, pharmaceuticals supply company, where he began as Chief Financial Officer and became President of McGaw's CAPS (Central Admixture Pharmacy Services) Division. Prior to McGaw, he was Chief Financial Officer of Denny's Inc., the popular restaurant franchise, from 1987 to 1991. He also held other executive management positions during his eight-year tenure with Denny's. Mr. Krist began his career with American Hospital Supply Corporation. Mr. Krist holds an MBA in Finance from the University of Southern California and a BS in Physics from Villanova University. He is also a Certified Management Accountant. Profile
ERIK H. van der KAAY is President and Chief Executive Officer of Datum Inc. and since January 2000, Chairman of the Board. He has been a Director of the company since his arrival at Datum in 1998. From 1990 to 1998, he held various positions within Allen Telecom, most recently as Executive Vice President. Mr. van der Kaay is currently a Director of Comarco, Inc., RF MicroDevices and TranSwitch Corporation. Profile
TWST: Could we begin with a brief overview and history of the company?

Mr. van der Kaay: The company was founded in 1969 but started off in the

computer peripheral business, which has