I've voiced my thoughts about Johnson in the past, but it's been a long time....

I think Johnson brings something to the party precisely because of his affiliation with Swartz. I'm of the opinion that the worm has turned and Swartz is in nearly the exact same boat as retail. Like him or not, Swartz is a very shrewd businessman. His "right hand" (Johnson) may be equally shrewd/smart, and probably learned a few things from Swartz. I certainly wouldn't mind if at some point PTSC, with its bankroll, did some creative financing as Swartz did with PTSC. These are smart guys, and know how to leverage money. In any case, assuming Swartz is now retail-like, I see Johnson being more "Brian-like". At minimum, he does have something real to offer. Helmut - no. Gloria, maybe due to having done past accounting, but that's it (just knowledgeable of history - questionable value if she did her job correctly).

To summarize, Johnson brought Swartz's agenda in the past, and will presumeably bring Swartz's new, retail investor agenda in the future (as I believe he has for the past six months - probably assisting the end to dividends, share buy-back, warrant elimination, and additions to the board).

JMHO,

SGE