Kathleen Gallagher visit’s Madison’s Third Wave Technologies:

Since arriving at Third Wave, he has helped guide the closing of two of the company?s three production facilities and the departure of more than 200 employees, stanch the cash drain and transform its product line to emphasize higher-margin offerings.
?He realized as a numbers person that getting profitable was the key to the success of the company,? said Daniel Kane, an analyst at the State of Wisconsin Investment Board. The pension plan manager is the biggest shareholder of Third Wave, holding 13% of its stock as of Sept. 30. ?What they?ve been able to do in terms of developing more products and becoming more customer-focused, that?s something John has understood all along.?
At least initially, Puisis didn?t ask for the job. In October 2001, Third Wave chairman and founder Lance Fors hired Puisis, then an executive recruiter at Egon Zehnder International, to conduct a search for a new chief financial officer – a position the company had not filled even as it went through its IPO.