Louis V. Gerstner, Jr. KBE (born March 1, 1942 in Mineola, New York) was chairman of the board and chief executive officer of IBM from April, 1993 until 2002 when he retired as CEO in March and chairman in December. He is largely credited with turning around IBM's fortunes. is the 60th day of the year (61st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link will display the full 1942 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Landmarks in Mineola, New York. ... For other uses of terms redirecting here, see US (disambiguation), USA (disambiguation), and United States (disambiguation) Motto In God We Trust(since 1956) (From Many, One; Latin, traditional) Anthem The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington, D.C. Largest city New York City National language English (de facto)1 Demonym American... The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. The Order includes five classes in civil and military divisions; in decreasing order of seniority, these are Knight Grand Cross or Dame Grand Cross (GBE) Knight Commander... is the 60th day of the year (61st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link will display the full 1942 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Landmarks in Mineola, New York. ... For other uses, see IBM (disambiguation) and Big Blue. ... This article or section needs additional references or sources to improve its verifiability. ... Year 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar). ...

He was formerly CEO of RJR Nabisco, and also held senior positions at American Express and McKinsey & Company. He is a graduate of Chaminade High School, Dartmouth College and holds an MBA from Harvard Business School. RJR Nabisco, Inc. ... American Express (NYSE: AXP), sometimes known as AmEx or Amex, is a diversified global financial services company, headquartered in New York City. ... McKinsey & Company is a global management consulting firm that focuses on solving issues of concern to senior management in large corporations and organizations. ... Chaminade High School is a Roman Catholic high school for young men in Mineola, New York. ... Dartmouth College is a private, coeducational university located in Hanover, New Hampshire, USA. Incorporated as Trustees of Dartmouth College,[6][7] it is a member of the Ivy League and one of the nine colonial colleges founded before the American Revolution. ... Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a tertiary degree in business management. ... Harvard Business School, officially named the Harvard Business School: George F. Baker Foundation, and also known as HBS, is one of the graduate schools of Harvard University. ...

In January, 2003, he assumed the position of chairman of The Carlyle Group, a global private equity firm located in Washington, DC. Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Carlyle Group is a Washington, DC based global private equity investment firm with more than $18 billion of equity capital. ... Private equity is a broad term that refers to any type of equity investment in an asset in which the equity is not freely tradable on a public stock market. ... Aerial photo (looking NW) of the Washington Monument and the White House in Washington, DC. Washington, D.C., officially the District of Columbia (also known as D.C.; Washington; the Nations Capital; the District; and, historically, the Federal City) is the capital city and administrative district of the United...

American Express

Gerstner joined American Express in 1978 as the executive vice president of the head of its charge card division. A year later he was named president of the Travel Related Services group, which was responsible for American Express cards, traveler's cheques, and travel-service offices. At this time, MasterCard and Visa had begun to compete for the company's market share. However, Gerstner found new uses for the card and found new users. In 1980 most department stores did not accept American Express cards - Gerstner acted on this and by 1985 retail sales were the second most common use of the card, following airline tickets.^{[citation needed]} College students, physicians, and women were singled out in various marketing pushes. Furthermore, corporations were persuaded to issue cards as a more effective way of tracking business expenses. Gerstner also created cards that appealed to higher end clients, such as the gold card, which carried an annual fee of $65 and offered a $2,000 line of credit, and the platinum card, which had a $250 annual fee, a $10,000 check-cashing benefit, and private club memberships for traveling executives. Year 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1978 Gregorian calendar). ... A vice president is an officer in government or business who is next in rank below a president. ... For other uses, see President (disambiguation). ... A travelers cheque (also travellers cheque, travelers check, or travelers cheque) is a preprinted, fixed-amount cheque designed to allow the person signing it to make an unconditional payment to someone else as a result of having paid the issuer (usually a bank) for that privilege. ... MasterCard Worldwide (NYSE: MA) is a multinational corporation based in Purchase, NY in the United States. ... Visa or VISA has several meanings: Look up visa in Wiktionary, the free dictionary Visa (document) — a document required to enter a specific country. ... Year 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1980 Gregorian calendar). ... This article is about the year. ...

As sales and profits rebounded, Gerstner was promoted to chairman and chief executive officer of Travel Related Services in 1982 and president of the parent company in 1985. Although he claimed the position at the age of 43, Gerstner dismissed the speculation that his success was the product of being a workaholic. Gerstner told Wayne, "I hear that and I can't accept that. A workaholic can't take vacations and I take four weeks a year" (June 30, 1985). Chief Executive redirects here. ... Year 1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday (link displays the 1982 Gregorian calendar). ...

As chairman and chief executive officer of the Travel Related Services division, Gerstner spearheaded the successful "membership has its privileges" promotion. Gerstner's division was continually the most profitable in the company and in the entire financial services industry.^{[citation needed]} Despite these successes, Gerstner hit a ceiling at American Express. The chief executive, James D. Robinson III, was not expected to retire for another 12 years. The analyst Perrin Long at Lipper Analytical told Jesus Sanchez of the Los Angeles Times: "Lou is a very personable guy. But more than anything else, he is a leader more than a follower" (March 14, 1989).^{[citation needed]} After 11 years at American Express, Gerstner left to become chairman and chief executive officer of RJR Nabisco. During Gerstner's tenure at American Express membership had increased from 8.6 million to 30.7 million. This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... This just IN !!!:paris hiltons new dog. ...

IBM

Gerstner is credited with saving IBM from going out of business in the early 1990s. In his memoir, Who Says Elephants Can't Dance?, he describes his arrival at the company in April 1993, when an active plan was in place to disaggregate the company. The prevailing wisdom of the time held that IBM's core mainframe business was headed for obsolescence. The company's own management was in the process of allowing its various divisions to rebrand and manage themselves — the so-called "Baby Blues." For other uses, see IBM (disambiguation) and Big Blue. ... This article or section needs additional references or sources to improve its verifiability. ... Year 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar). ...

Gerstner reversed this plan, realizing from his previous experiences at RJR and American Express that there remained a vital need for a broad-based information technology integrator. His decision to keep the company together was the defining decision of his tenure. The subsequent refocusing on the IT services business (which grew to nearly 50% of the IBM's revenues), the embrace of the Internet as a business phenomenon, and a broad effort to revive the company's culture are widely seen as having resulted in one of the most remarkable turnarounds in business history.

In his memoir, Gerstner described the turnaround as difficult and often wrenching for an IBM culture that had become insular and balkanized. Before he arrived, over 100,000 employees had been laid off from a company that had maintained a lifetime employment policy from its inception. Layoffs and other tough management measures continued in the first two years of Gerstner's tenure, but the company was saved, and business success has continued to grow steadily since then. Balkanization is a geopolitical term originally used to describe the process of fragmentation or division of a region into smaller regions that are often hostile or non-cooperative with each other. ...

Gerstner was named a Knight Commander of the British Empire and given a KBE on the recommendation of former United Kingdom Prime Minister, Tony Blair, The award was for his services to UK education and his contribution to the Internet. The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. The Order includes five classes in civil and military divisions; in decreasing order of seniority, these are Knight Grand Cross or Dame Grand Cross (GBE) Knight Commander... Commanders Badge of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V. The Order includes five classes in civil and military divisions, in order of seniority: Knight or Dame Grand Cross... For other people of the same name, see Tony Blair (disambiguation) Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born May 6, 1953)[1] is the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service, Leader of the Labour Party, and Member of Parliament for the constituency...

Upon his departure from IBM, Gerstner received a 10-year consultancy contract worth up to $2 million annually, plus expenses and full use of IBM facilities and services, such as office, cars, aircraft and financial planning. He is only required to work one month out of the year. (Source: Forbes)

References

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Louis V. Gerstner, Jr.

• Gerstner, Jr., Louis V. (2002). Who Says Elephants Can't Dance? HarperCollins. ISBN 0-00-715448-8.

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External links

• IBM biography of Louis V. Gerstner, Jr.
• The Carlyle Group's biography of Gerstner
• Biography from Global Leaders for Louis V Gerstner, Jr.