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| IN THE TRENCHES: Greg Smith took a hands-on approach to turning Accudata Technologies around. photography by Elizabeth Lavin |
Greg smith has never been one to back away from a challenge. Once an officer in the U.S. Army Airborne Ranger Infantry, he went on to teach at the renowned U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. He then entered the business world, working for 28 years for big telecommunications companies. But he took on arguably his most difficult task in 2002, when he became president and CEO of (what’s now called) Accudata Technologies Inc., a then-troubled, Allen-based outfit that soon would file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization.
“Based on my years of experience in large corporate environments,” he says, “I was able to see the growth potential of this company.”
Luckily for Smith, Accudata wasn’t a company new to change. Founded in 1989 as a private pay-phone company called Revenue Communications, it eventually shifted priorities to become a telephone information-services supplier, providing access to mass amounts of data related to cellphone and telephone numbers, as well as Internet provider locations. The company’s information is used by a variety of phone companies, leads providers, and telemarketing groups for purposes like credit-card processing and validation, billing verification, and Caller ID services.
Smith set about whipping the company into shape. He reviewed the operation from top to bottom, identifying a number of inefficiencies. Then he implemented cost controls, upgraded infrastructure, created a more reliable network, introduced new services, and moved to a larger space, one eye on still more growth.
Accudata emerged from bankruptcy protection in 2003 and hasn’t looked back. The company has recently experienced 500 percent growth in its top-line revenue and racked up some 20 honors in the past four years, including consecutive Deloitte Technology Fast 500 and Texas Crescent Technology Fast 50 awards.
The ex-Army officer’s biggest worry now? Finding enough shelf space for all those awards.
