About the Book

A personal journey through the life and career of the CFO of an early Silicon Valley software startup that became a Great American success story. It was the company that introduced the world to “relational database management,” a breakthrough technology wherein data could be manipulated and viewed in new and better ways. From its initial public offering in 1986, shares (split adjusted) of the company increased 400 times and enjoyed an annual compound rate of 22% through 2021.

As CFO the author guided the company through the highly competitive and often perilous world of software and its evolution from Service as a Software (SaaS) to Cloud computing and storage to Autonomous Database (AI). The son of an Army Air Force pilot killed in World War II, he was raised in California by a single mother, he learned the ropes of what it takes to be a successful CFO at such iconic companies as Hughes Aircraft, Fairchild Instrument & Camera, Saga Corporation, and Memorex. Keep Your Socks Up is the story of skilled management, hard work, and the notion that old-fashioned values matter.