Since coming to town, I've been working for Vallent Corp., a small-but-global software company in Bellevue whose products are used by cellular providers to keep their networks working right. I'm the proposal manager... for the world. That means time zones and international datelines often make for unusual work hours and difficult deadlines. When two giant requests for proposals came out concurrently in Australia last month, I had to hop a plane on short notice to hole up down under in Sydney for a couple weeks. (And I didn't escape for even one afternoon of sightseeing!).
Life at Vallent is about to change in a big way -- a really big way. We announced in November that IBM is acquiring us into its Tivoli software group. I'll go from working at a company with fewer than 450 employees, where I am on a first-name basis with the CEO and most of the senior officers, to one with more than 350,000 employees and a CEO who will never know I exist.
But that's OK. These are exciting times for us. Vallent was a privately held company constantly looking for a suitable buyer or an opportunity to go public. IBM is a leader in the field and known for taking care of its employees. As I look into this vast corporation, I see nothing but opportunity and open doors. With any luck, they'll enable me to prosper in this corner of the country where I hope to make my home for many years to come.
The sale will be finalized sometime in the next couple of months once we get all the necessary regulatory approvals.
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