Besides wrestling with the enormous strategic issues facing Novell, Ray had to deal with the myriad operational issues that beset a growing company. For example, even though most employees put in so many hours that they practically lived where they worked, there was a physical limit to what they could accomplish. More bodies were needed. Between January 1983 and December 1984, 83 new employees were hired, and most of those came aboard in 1984. Judy helped with the hiring and administration at first, but by 1984 a full-time Human Resources person was needed. John Thompson was brought on.
Safeguard Scientifics wanted to keep a close eye on operations, and they insisted on having their own people fill the key positions of Chief Financial Officer and Secretary. Bill Gillan, the CFO, and Ray Kraftson, the Secretary, accomplished their duties from Safeguard’s offices in Pennsylvania and commuted to Orem as necessary. Corporate filings, insurance, stock incentive plans, and other similar operational matters were also handled by Safeguard. In exchange for Safeguard’s providing these and other administrative services, Novell agreed to pay 0.75% of its net sales. The payment for 1984 came to $64,200.
By the summer of 1984, Ray thought it was time to reward the performance of some his key people by making some promotions. At the quarterly meeting of Novell’s board of directors in August 1984, Craig was elected Vice President of Marketing and Dave Owen was elected Vice President of Engineering. During 1984, Craig and Owen and other valued employees received salary increases and additional stock. Considering the prior experience of these individuals and the still precarious financial situation of the company, Ray was generous. At year end, for example, Harry’s base salary was $48,000, Craig’s was $50,000, Owen’s was in the neighborhood of $40,000, and Ray himself drew a base of $90,000. With commissions based on sales results added in, Harry received a total $72,666 and Craig $62,550 for their work in 1984. This was more than double their 1982 compensation from NDSI, and in Orem it went a long way.
In July 1984, SuperSet was allowed to buy a total 140,000 shares for a dollar per share, of which 3% ($4,000) was paid in cash.
Another employee whom Ray rewarded in 1984 was Judy. After her divorce from Reid, Judy went to Ray and asked for the founder’s stock that he had failed to give her in the spring of 1983. Ray agreed that she deserved it and Judy received her stake in Novell.
Judy reinvented herself after her divorce. She retained her married name of Clark, but to distance herself from her association with Reid she added an “e” to the end: Clarke. She also started referring to herself as “Judith” instead of “Judy”—it was more in keeping with her new image. “Judith A. Clarke”: It had a nice ring to it, appropriately serious and corporate. Her co-workers were instructed never to refer to her as “Judy” in public.