After nearly three decades at Intel, Jim Johnson thought he was retired.

But an old colleague called him up, on vacation in Tahiti, and convinced Johnson to take over as chief executive of Tripwire — a promising but cash-strapped Portland software company with an unexpected vacancy at the top.

Six years later, Tripwire is enjoying a recession-defying boom. Demand for its network security software is soaring and the Tripwire is poised for the first public stock offering by an Oregon tech company in six years.

Tripwire’s software helps companies monitor their computer systems to catch breakdowns or break-ins. Revenues hit $74 million last year, up 15 percent, and profits were nearly $20 million.

Its success is in large measure due to its employees and hot demand for its software, Johnson said. But personally, he credits lessons he learned at Intel about discipline, management and leadership.

“I would not be here today, believe me, if it had not been for my experience at Intel,” he said, looking out across the Willamette River from the 15th floor of a downtown office tower.

And yet Johnson’s experience at Tripwire is the exception in Oregon. Though the state is home to Intel’s largest operating hub, its primary research center and 15,000 employees, relatively few of those have left the security of their corporate jobs to spawn new Oregon innovation outside Intel.

That’s certainly not for lack of talent, according to Johnson.

The issue, as he and other Intel alumni see it, is that Intel’s industry skills are narrowly focused on the semiconductor business — an industry that has largely migrated overseas.

It’s very hard to launch a domestic chip company today, and Johnson said few Intel executives have deep experience beyond that field. An Intel manager might bring exceptional business skills, he said, but business success in technology often depends on specific industry experience.

“You don’t want a utility player at the top,” said Johnson, 59. “You want someone who knows the market, knows the customers.”

At Tripwire, Johnson initially came aboard on an interim basis to fill an unexpected vacancy at the top.

“My situation is unique,” he said. “Because I came in on a temporary basis, they had a very specific need: Having a strong foundation on how to manage a company was needed, as opposed to a strong sense of the market.”

By the time the company was ready to seek a long-term CEO, he said, he’d learned enough about the industry to stay on. And he’d rediscovered a passion for building a leadership team.

But he didn’t hire any of his old friends from Intel, and said “less than a handful” of Tripwire’s 300 employees have Intel on their resumes.

Source:http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2010/07/intel_may_be_sturdy_but_it_spa.html