One Hungry Monster

In October 2000, HotJobs CEO Richard Johnson figured his company would be turning profitable right about now while sitting on $50 million in cash ("Hot Seat," page 44). Johnson was right about the money (HotJobs squeaked out a 4-cent-per-share profit in the second quarter of 2001), but he's out of the CEO's office, and his company is about to be gobbled up by TMP Worldwide, parent of Monster.com. TMP must see the turn of events as quite enticing, with the acquisition valued at $460 million in TMP stock. Johnson is characteristically upbeat, comparing recruiting to the auto industry. "Think of General Motors," he says. "They have room for lots of brands and brand differentiation. There's a reason GM sells a Cadillac and a Buick." (Johnson declines to comment on whether HotJobs is the Cadillac or the Buick.) His role at TMP is still undecided; at press time Johnson had no formal arrangement with the company, saying he was ready to do "whatever they ask me to." Alas, that might not be much, as job sites could soon be idling their engines due to the economic stall: The combined company will host some 14 million resumes but only about 650,000 job listings.

Copyright © 2004 Ziff Davis Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. Originally appearing in Ziff Davis Smart Business.