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BBO Organization/Management


cellist

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One of the aspects of BBO that impressed me from the beginning of my membership here was the presence of Fred Gitelman as a management force. Lately it seems that Fred may no longer be "in charge" to the degree that he was in the past. Was my initial observation inaccurate (Fred wasn't "in charge" even then) or has the management team changed recently? I apologize if this is not the proper forum for this discussion.

 

Phil

cellist on BBO

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I am not an expert at all on the subject but my understanding is that Fred and Uday invented BBO, at some point when it became profitable Fred sold some of his share of the company, and they hired more employees so that Fred and Uday did not have to do so much (as all companies do when they grow), and Fred's role is now less day-to-day stuff though he still is involved (and has some ownership) in the company as a programmer and probably general strategist.
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Since you asked...

 

I still work full time for BBO. The vast majority of the BBO work I do involves programming, but sometimes my alleged bridge expertise is called upon to help with things like improving GIB's bidding system, writing articles about bridge, cheating investigations, etc. Also, I know a lot of bridge players and administrators throughout the world so I will occasionally arrange for and/or represent BBO in meetings with such people.

 

For the past few years Uday has been our CEO. He frequently seeks my opinions (and those of other people) before making decisions, but ultimately all the big decisions are his to make.

 

That is more than fine with me for several reasons:

 

1) Uday certainly has stronger business and management skills than I do.

2) Uday and I tend to agree on most issues.

3) I enjoy being a programmer. I do not enjoy being a manager.

 

Before Uday became our CEO, I don't think any single person was ever really "in charge".

 

For most of BBO's history I was the closest thing we had to a "public face of BBO", but nowadays I would not describe myself that way. That is mostly because I do not go out in public (in particular to bridge tournaments) nearly as much as I once did.

 

That is also more than fine with me. I am happy spending most of my time at home with my wife and dog.

 

Fred Gitelman

Bridge Base Inc.

www.bridgebase.com

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