Biz and Marketing Initiatives
The idea for the world’s first personal data assistant (PDA) came out of a discussion with a friend while spending time on the warm southern California beaches. Lloyd developed the concept in 1985, and the world’s first commercially successful electronic PDA, the Calling Card, was launched two years later at Bloomingdale’s in New York and Robinson’s Department Stores in Los Angeles.
In the 1990’s, many realized there would be a need for identification security to protect society from fraud and misuse of personal information. Business mogul J. Anthony Forstmann contracted with Lloyd to assist marketing his firm’s proprietary identification technology. Lloyd’s vision was to integrate the technology into desktop computers, and he effectively promoted the concept to KeyTronic, the world’s leading manufacturer of computer peripherals. The two firms established a joint venture that integrated biometric technology into computer operating systems for the first time.
Smart Cards Lloyd and a partner successfully developed Smart Card Retail Systems (SCRS) that marketed the first smart-card application for gift certificates in U.S. shopping malls. Their company partnered with Hewlitt Packard as its technology partner to supply the hardware to interface with Mellon Bank, the company’s software technology driver. The partnership enabled all merchants within a shopping mall to accept electronic gift certificates. Sales of the certificates skyrocketed in the numerous malls that installed the new program.
Tower Records, the largest retailer in the music industry, retained the company to further its business interests in several countries.
Almo-Irving Publishing, founded by musician Herb Albert and business-magnate Jerry Moss, sought IIG’s guidance in capturing royalties in Eastern Europe for its music catalogue, Rhondor Music, which has a prestigious catalog of more than 60,000 songs which include some of the most popular compositions of the modern era.
Hess, Imperial Bank, and Occidental Petroleum hired Lloyd’s consulting firm IIG to further their business interests in diverse arenas including new product development and growing new distribution channels.
Consulting work for Aura Systems was directed to converting military technology to consumer uses. As part of this work, Lloyd was responsible for the acquisition of an international patent from the Atomic Energy Ministry of the former Soviet Union. This led to Lloyd’s appointment as Vice President of Business Development and Marketing for the publicly traded high-tech firm. In this capacity, he handled special projects in Mexico, Japan, Germany, and the UK.
