The Disk Drive Baron Goes For Another Spin

It's another beautiful day in Pebble Beach, Calif., and Finis F. Conner is enjoying the view of Carmel Bay from his mansion. Since selling Conner Peripherals Inc. to rival Seagate Technology Inc. in 1996, the 55-year-old entrepreneur has spent much of his time here, honing his single-digit-handicap golf game. Sometimes he goes fly-fishing in Alaska or takes a cruise on his 118-foot yacht with his wife, Julie, and their sons.

What's wrong with this picture? Not much. But it's not enough to keep serial entrepreneur Conner from his real passion--starting companies. His new plan: to teach the disk-drive industry a lesson in low-cost manufacturing and build another fortune by selling his wares to makers of sub-$1,000 personal computers. Conner Technology PLC will be based in Ireland to reduce taxes and will outsource all production. And it will crank out products with proven, if trailing-edge, technology. Can this formula work? "Either Finis is crazy or he knows something I don't know," says former Seagate CEO Alan F. Shugart.