David Francis, The Examiner
2007-07-18 07:00:00.0
Current rank: Not ranked

SILVER SPRING, Md. -

Most reports on the performance of company executives come from analysts who cover the company, giving these reports a human element that can sometimes lead to biased accounts.

A software company based in Silver Spring is working to remove that bias and give a more accurate portrait of how a company is being run with an automated rating system.

SEGMA LLC is working on a new application called Kaelo that would analyze data such as financial disclosure statements, audits, annual report, compensation reports and the company's performance during times of crisis to measure how well executive are performing.

“The leadership of public companies, we need to find a way to rate their performance,” said Jide Odubiyi, president and chief executive officer of SEGMA. “We're using information in the public domain to develop a system that any investor or government analyst can access via the Web to understand the performance of leadership of public companies.”

Odubiyi started SEGMA in 2000, but only dedicated himself to the company full-time a year and a half ago.

A former professor of computer science at Bowie State University and employee of Lockheed Martin, he now has two full-time employees.

Earlier this week, the company was awarded a grant of nearly $75,000 from the Maryland Technology Development Corporation to continue work on Kaelo. Odubiyi said his firm is partnering with NASA to complete work on the application; NASA is expected to use Kaelo to weigh the performance of its own executives.

Odubiyi said a prototype of the software should be ready in less than nine months.

Maryland Technology Development Corp. President and Executive Director Renee Winsky said SEGMA's work with NASA was one of the most attractive qualities of the pitch. The corporation also liked the unique idea behind the application.

“They're going to set up a system where they can evaluate leadership, not just the financials,” she said. “It is certainly a unique approach.”

dfrancis@dcexaminer.com