Graham-Field appoints new chief executive; analyst pleased
By KAREN PIHL-CAREY
HHBR Staff Writer
The appointment of Paul Bellamy as the new CEO of Graham-Field Health Products (GF; Hauppauge, NY) came as no surprise to an analyst that follows the manufacturer of healthcare and rehabilitation products.
After all, in less than a year as the company’s president/COO, Bellamy has reorganized the firm along three business lines: home healthcare, medical/surgical, and rehabilitation. And his efforts and accomplishments in the short time go even further, said Robin Young, a senior health care analyst with Stephens Inc. (Little Rock, AR).
"In the fourth quarter, he paid off about half of his debt," Young told HHBR. "He did an amazing job. He really did. The changes seemed to be succeeding. Now the board has added one more title to him."
Bellamy will replace Rodney Price as CEO. Price had worked for GF’s largest shareholder, Brierley Investments, in New Zealand. But when the company suffered financial difficulties, Price lost his job there, only to be given a one-year consulting contract to oversee the company’s American investments. In the meantime, he lived in London and looked for something more permanent. When he found it, he resigned, and Bellamy was the obvious replacement, Young said.
"Bellamy is having a lot of successes," Young said. "And I think many of these are not yet apparent to customers overall, but I think this year it will become apparent to customers as the company starts to generate higher cash flows."
Also replacing Price, David Delaney Jr. will assume the role of chairman of the board. Delaney, a member of the board since 1995, is the CEO of Lancer Financial Group, an insurance provider to the transportation industry.
Bellamy began work as COO at GF in March with a reputation of turning companies around. To his credit, he spearheaded efforts that successfully made Davis Vision (Long Island, NY) and Nichols Institute Diagnostics (San Juan Capistrano, CA) profitable companies again, Young said.
GF reported a 3Q98 loss of $5.2 million its most recent quarterly results available. Last March, it reported quarterly losses of $4 million, causing stock to dip 59% in value in one day. The stock has eroded ever since, reported Newsday, trading around $3 per share this year. Rising corporate and administrative expenses due to acquisitions have contributed to the problems, the company has said. When Bellamy came on with the company to address some of these problems, he clashed heads with then-Chairman/CEO Irwin Selinger, but the board sided with Bellamy and asked Selinger to leave last summer, Young said. Selinger resigned with a severance package that the company will pay his $550,000-a-year salary through July 1999 and cover his healthcare and insurance premiums through July 2001, according to a company filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (Washington).
In turn, Bellamy took over as president and brought in new management under him, including Harvey Diamond, a former president and member of the board, to serve as executive vice president of the home healthcare business unit. Bellamy also consolidated facilities.
"He shut down the corporate headquarters and moved all the people out to the senior factory," Young said.
Company officials did not return phone calls for this story.
You have reached your article limit for the month. Subscribe now to access this article plus other member-only content.
- Award-winning Medical Content
- Latest Advances & Development in Medicine
- Unbiased Content