Lou Gerstner, former IBM CEO and Technology Innovator, Dies at 83

Lou Gerstner, IBM’s chairman and CEO from 1993 to 2002, died Saturday. He was 83. An influential leader who kept IBM together as one company when outside investors pushed for spin-offs and breakups, he was also IndustryWeek’s 1999 Technology Leader of the Year.

In a letter to employees on Sunday, IBM Chairman and CEO Arvind Krishna credited Gerstner for reinventing the company during his tenure.

“Lou arrived at IBM at a moment when the company’s future was genuinely uncertain. The industry was changing rapidly, our business was under pressure, and there was serious debate about whether IBM should even remain whole,” Krishna wrote. “His leadership during that period reshaped the company. Not by looking backward, but by focusing relentlessly on what our clients would need next.”

The 1999 IndustryWeek profile of Gerstner focused on his capitalization of IBM’s internal technology leadership to support the then-new concept of e-business. Written by the late IndustryWeek technology editor John Teresko, the article noted that Gerstner was redirecting IBM’s technologies to support digital business structures, online payments and other services that are ubiquitous today.

“We do very much want to be the company customers turn to for leadership in technology innovation, in understanding how to explore the technology for competitive advantage, and the company that can pull together the products, expertise, and insights better than anyone,” Gerstner told Teresko in 1999. “What's most exciting, I think, is that we’re transforming IBM right now, when e-business is taking hold in the world. This is the single most energizing period in this industry's short but very important history.”

Long-since retired, Gerstner spent much of his time in recent years focused on philanthropy. His Gerstner Philanthropies foundation announced his passing Sunday, saying, “As a philanthropist, he committed the foundation to biomedical research, education, environmental work, and direct support for families facing hardship. His legacy is embodied in the successes of the individuals and institutions we support, and our resolve to continue his work remains steadfast.”

A major donor to the American Museum of Natural History in New York, several galleries of fossils bear Gerstner’s name.

In addition to talking to employees about Gerstner’s impact on IBM, current CEO Krishna added a personal story from having met Gerstner in the late 1990s at an IBM town-hall meeting.

“He had an ability to hold the short term and the long term in his head at the same time. He pushed hard on delivery, but he was equally focused on innovation: doing work that clients would remember, not just consume.

“Lou stayed engaged with IBM long after his tenure ended. From my first days as CEO, he was generous with advice—but always careful in how he gave it. He would offer perspective, then say, ‘I’ve been gone a long time—I’m here if you need me.’ He listened closely to what others were saying about IBM and reflected it back candidly.”