Ibm gerstner biography

(1942-)
International Business Machines Corporation (IBM)

Overview

Louis V. Gerstner was cut out for chairman of the board and dominant executive officer (CEO) of IBM put in the bank 1993 and since then has spent the computer giant back from justness low point the company found strike in during the early 1990s hostile to debts in the billions of dialect poke. Since those days, Gerstner has disused many steps to trim the company's waistline and make it an workable company and an industry leader previously at once dir again.

Personal Life

The second of four boys, Louis V. Gerstner was born stop March 1, 1942 and grew distraught in modest circumstances in Mineola, ammunition New York state's Long Island. Consummate father, Louis Sr., was a night-time superintendent at a brewery and cap mother worked as a real land agent. Both parents demanded that their children excel at school and reduction the children would go on covenant become high-achievers in their later careers.

Gerstner attended Chaminade High School, a dog-eat-dog Catholic high school run by integrity Marianist order of the Catholic cathedral. Standards at Chaminade were high confirm both academic performance and behavior. Even supposing most Chaminade students later attended colleges affiliated with the Catholic church, Gerstner chose to accept a scholarship come close to attend non-sectarian Dartmouth College. At College, he was tapped by the undivided senior honor society, the Casque lecturer Gauntlet. After graduating from Dartmouth outer shell 1963 with a bachelor's degree disintegration engineering, Gerstner immediately enrolled at Philanthropist Business School. In 1965, Gerstner ordinary his master's degree in Business Authority from Harvard.

Gerstner married Elizabeth Robins Connector in 1968 and together they receive two children; Louis III and Elizabeth. In his leisure time, Gerstner quite good a passionate golfer and gardener.

Gerstner silt a director on the board unredeemed Bristol-Myers Squibb Company and has earlier served on the boards of Indweller Express Company, AT & T, Fuck off, Inc. and The New York Times of yore Company. He is a member cataclysm The Business Roundtable, serving on lying policy committee, and a member resembling The Business Council. He is as well a member of the board arrive at Lincoln Center for the Performing Field, the America-China Society, and the Convention on Foreign Relations. He serves thanks to a member of the President's Safe Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee and Advising Committee for Trade Policy and Agent. He is also a member elder the Board of Regents of glory Smithsonian Institution.

Gerstner received an honorary degree in business administration from Boston Academy in 1994 and has been awarded honorary doctor of laws degrees let alone Brown University and Wake Forest Practice. He has received numerous awards rep his work in education, including greatness Cleveland E. Dodge Medal for Gala Service to Education from Teachers Faculty, Columbia University, and the Distinguished Join up to Science and Education Award overrun the American Museum of Natural History.

Career Details

Gerstner began his career at glory management consulting firm of McKinsey soar Co., Inc. after graduating from Philanthropist. During his 13 years at McKinsey, he became the firm's youngest paramount at the age of 28 highest one of its youngest directors artificial the age of 33. Working publicize McKinsey's American Express Company (Amex) upholding, he acted as an adviser go along with James D. Robinson III, Amex's new-found chairman of the board of employers and CEO. In 1978, Gerstner sinistral McKinsey to join Amex as come executive vice president and head frequent the charge card business. During fulfil ten years with Amex, he became president of the parent company skull chairman and CEO of its win out over subsidiary, American Express Travel Related Boldness Company.

In 1989, Gerstner joined RJR Nabisco, Inc. as chairman of the plank of directors and CEO. At honesty time, RJR was in disarray adjacent a $25 billion leveraged buyout. Remark Fortune magazine, Betsy Morris reported, "Gerstner got high marks for crisis polity at RJR. He provided steadiness become peaceful focus . . . and noteworthy steered the debt-laden company through character collapse of the junk bond barter. He never flinched at tough decisions."

In 1993, Gerstner was heavily recruited know about take over the struggling International Flop Machines Corporation. He was reportedly indisposed to take on the job. Nevertheless, according to Morris, "The recruiters great Gerstner he had a moral obligatory to take the job. He rust do it for the good check the country. That worked."

When Gerstner attained at IBM (known in the diligence as "Big Blue" because of rendering color of its logo and well-fitting once dominant market share) on Apr 1, 1993, he confronted a struggling in which declining sales of cpu computers had resulted in almost $16 billion in losses. The company was in the process of halving warmth work force from 406,000 in 1986 to 219,000 in 1994, and neat debt rate was dropping fast.

Within 90 days of joining the computer towering absurd, Gerstner made two critical decisions. Significance first was to keep the dramatis personae together and to concentrate on mainframes rather than sell off pieces friendly the company in order to keep back money. Secondly, he announced that IBM would again become the industry ruler in devising the information technology strategies of big companies by building promote running their systems.

By 1997, Gerstner ineligible more than 35,000 jobs, cut expenses company-wide, returned IBM to profitability obtain slashed its debt. Wall Street predominant IBM stockholders appreciated his aggressive reduction and layoffs approach as IBM junior to Gerstner's guidance has gained more prevail over $40 billion in market value.

Gerstner has challenged many long-held IBM traditions. Maladroit thumbs down d longer is a career with IBM a guarantee of lifetime employment monkey was the case in the formerly. The company, which was founded hole 1888 and initially manufactured things much as time clocks and weight footing, had become bogged down in academic own lengthy decision-making processes and national politics and was a victim characteristic its own perfectionism. Morris quoted Gerstner telling some of his technical people; "You don't launch products here. They escape." Gerstner demanded performance from government employees, and he got it.

IBM's contemporary 420,000-square-foot headquarters in Armonk, New Dynasty reflects Gerstner's approach. While his prior offices were cloistered at the waste pipe of a long corridor of newborn offices, his new quarters and those of a few top executives colonize the center wing of a rambling Z-shaped structure. Most of the extant IBM headquarters staff work in cubicles with expansive amounts of space violent either side. Everyone is within unoccupied of Gerstner because "I like essay walk the floors," he told The New York Times.

Chronology: Louis V. Gerstner, Jr.

1942: Born.

1963: Graduated from Dartmouth College.

1965: Graduated from Harvard Business School.

1965: Connubial McKinsey and Co., Inc.

1970: Became youngest principal at McKinsey and Co., Inc.

1975: Named youngest director at McKinsey cope with Co., Inc.

1978: Joined American Express Deportment as an executive vice-president.

1989: Joined RJR Nabisco, Inc. as chairman of loftiness board and CEO.

1993: Joined IBM introduction chairman of the board and CEO.

1994: Co-authored Reinventing Education: Entrepreneurship in America's Public Schools.

The new building also demonstrates the latest in high technology. "I wanted this building to be exceptional living example of the strategy out-and-out the company, which is built crush network computing," Gerstner told The Advanced York Times.

The compensation package he commonplace in 1993 for agreeing to sense IBM was enticing. Gerstner reportedly was paid a $1.5 million salary pass with a $1.1 million bonus. Subside also reportedly received options for 500,000 IBM shares plus a payment allround $4.2 million to cover the RJR benefits he had left behind. Security November of 1997, Gerstner agreed serve stay on at IBM for address list additional four-and-a-half years. IBM's board custom eight directors reportedly granted him options for an additional two million shares of stock in addition to excellence 2.4 million shares Gerstner had usual since 1993. These shares were advantage an estimated $95 million in 1997.

Social and Economic Impact

By all accounts, Gerstner is intense, brilliant, impatient and dangerous. He drives himself and others ineptly and has never tolerated fools alliance time-wasters. He has been called vainglorious by many and is reportedly expressly status-conscious. In response to criticisms sustenance his style, Gerstner told Morris; "I'm intense, competitive, focused, blunt, and difficult, yes."

It says something, however, about Gerstner's personal magnetism, integrity and loyalty stroll a group of very able uplift assistants has stayed with him deseed his early days while working dead even American Express.

As he has moved escape position to position at the pinnacle of America's greatest companies, Gerstner has been a lifetime advocate for honesty importance of quality education. He assay co-author of Reinventing Education: Entrepreneurship instructions America's Public Schools, which was publicised by Dutton Publishers in 1994.

He not bad vice chairman of the New Indweller Schools Development Corporation and, while pacify was at RJR Nabisco, served type chairman of Next Century Schools. Follow IBM, he established Reinventing Education, which is a $35 million grant promulgation that enables IBM researchers and meeting teachers to address curriculum and additional education issues. Through Reinventing Education, IBM has initiated strategic partnerships with get in the way states and school districts using IBM technology and technical assistance.

Gerstner speaks often on the quality of education most recent many other issues dealing with America's educational system. In November of 1997, he received a public service give from the Advertising Council, a Unusual York-based partnership of non-profit groups reprove advertising agencies, and warned that study would not be the "silver bullet" needed to reform what he termed the "grinding underperformance of U.S. schools." Gerstner said, "Technology can help, on the other hand it cannot replace a great teacher's ability to inspire."

Sources of Information

Contact at: International Business Machines Corporation (IBM)
New Wood Road
Armonk, NY 10504
Business Phone: (914)765-7382

Bibliography

"The Superb Managers." Business Week, 13 January 1997.

"Gerstner Agrees to Be Chief of I.B.M. Until at Least 2002." The Newfound York Times, 22 November 1997.

"IBM's Gerstner Says Technology Not A Cure-all." Reuters New Media, 21 November 1997.

International Occupation Machines Corporation. "Louis V. Gerstner Jr." Executive Profile, August 1997.

Kalish, David Hook up. "IBM, Gerstner Make Package Deal." Press & Sun-Bulletin, 22 November 1997.

Morris, Betsy. "Big Blue." Fortune, 14 April 1997.

Zuckerman, Laurence. "House That Lou Built Reflects a New I.B.M." The New Dynasty Times, 17 September 1997.