Amos Michelson, CEO of Creo Inc. (NASDAQ: CREO; TSX: CRE), faces a challenge from a dissident shareholder action. These shareholders seek to replace both the Creo Board of Directors, and Michelson himself. This move has focused the spotlight on Robert Burton Sr., of the Burton Management Group as Michelson’s potential replacement. (See Who is Robert Burton and why does he want to run Creo?)

WhatTheyThink Senior Editor, Gail Nickel-Kailing, to provide “the other side of the story” attempted to create a profile of Amos Michelson from public documents, only to find that Michelson seeks to limit his press exposure to public announcements and a few personal interviews. In an October 2001 article titled Technology Futures by Michael Volker, appearing on BCTechnology.com, a web site for the high-tech industry in British Columbia, Michelson was described as “the most un-involved-in-the-community CEO I’ve ever seen. He steadfastly refuses speaking engagements, networking events, etc. After all, he has a job to do – and that is to run the company.”

Serving as executive management since 1991, Amos (as he is know to all Creo customers and employees) has been a key player in the growth and development of Creo, its products, and its corporate culture. Preferring to keep his family life private (yes, he’s married; yes, he has kids; and he even has a dog), Amos has been a public, yet enigmatic face of Creo.