Where They Are Now

J. Jovan Philyaw

Then: Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Digital:Convergence Corp.

Now: What do you do once you've bilked companies such as the Belo Corp., Radio Shack, Young & Rubicam, and Coca-Cola of investments between $10 million and $37.5 million for a product that flops? You change your name. Philyaw, the masterful pitchman between the CueCat, a cutely named handheld barcode scanner that was supposed to bridge print media and the Web, apparently now does business under the name J. Hutton Pulitzer -- or the one-word moniker "Jovan." Operating J. Hutton Pulitzer and Co. out of Dallas, the inventor of what has been decried as "one of the most ridiculed products of the Internet era," now specializes in the "development of unique intellectual property." Such as? Bottled rainwater. Crystals. And a forthcoming book entitled Generational Curses. Will Jovan be foiled again? Only time will tell.

Date Requested: Feb. 19, 2004
Correspondent: Michael Wood

CueCat courtesy of Steven Saar.

Jim Manzi

Then: CEO, Lotus Development Corp., and CEO, Nets Inc.

Now: Having steered Lotus through a decreasingly hostile takeover by IBM, Manzi moved on in 1996 to Industry.Net -- later Nets Inc. -- to focus on vertical industry-oriented business-to-business e-commerce. Despite attracting the investment and support of such New Economy heavy hitters as Bill Gates and Perot Systems Corp. CEO Mort Myerson, the company declared bankruptcy in May 1997. Almost a year later, Manzi was one of the first to claim money from the failed company, netting $1.4 million as the first creditor in line after tax agencies and professionals who handled the case. Since the 1998 pay out, Manzi has chaired a handful of companies, including Interwise, Flooz, and Thermo Electron Corp. -- his most recent position. Having worked as a fundraiser for Presidential candidate Bill Bradley in 1999, Manzi was also inducted into the 2003 CRN Industry Hall of Fame.

Date Requested: March 3, 2004
Correspondent: Jean

Manzi courtesy of Michael Best.

Sabeer Bhatia

Then: Founder and CEO, Hotmail

Now: After selling Hotmail to Microsoft in 1998, Bhatia launched another company, Arzoo, in 2000. In September of that year, Arzoo began providing Web-based access to a global network of technology experts who offered realtime problem-solving assistance for engineering, IT and tech support applications. Not nine months later, Arzoo shut up shop, declaring on its Web site that the company ceased operations "necessitated by a severe downturn in the US Economy." Also in 2000, Bhatia stepped up as co-chairman of Navin Communications Inc., which provided voice messaging and voicemail services in India. That company's TeliVoice service will no longer be available after April 1, 2004, and Navin will more aggressively work with local partners. In 2002, Bhatia joined the advisory board of http://roomtoread.org ">Room to Read, a nonprofit organization that facilitates education in poor Asian communities. Room to Read was recently recognized in Fast Company's State of Social Capitalism report. He is also a charter member of The Indus Entrepreneur, a global network of entrepreneurs.

Date Requested: March 9, 2004
Correspondent: Harjoto Roeslan, OGS Rescources

Let us know which once-prominent business leaders and innovators you want to catch up on, and the Fast Company team will do its best to get the goods on those long gone.