Editing Lou Gerstner

{{short description|American businessman}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2021}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Lou Gerstner
| birth_name         = Louis Vincent Gerstner Jr.
| image              = Lou Gerstner IBM CEO 1995.jpg
| caption            = Gerstner {{circa|1995}}
| birth_date         = {{birth date and age|1942|3|1}}
| birth_place        = [[Mineola, New York]], U.S.
| occupation         = Former Chairman and CEO, [[RJR Nabisco]] (1989-1993) <br /> Former Chairman and CEO, [[IBM]] (1993-2002) <br /> Former Chairman, [[The Carlyle Group]] (2003-2008)
| education          = [[Dartmouth College]] ([[B. A.|BA]])<br />[[Harvard University]] ([[M. B. A.|MBA]])
| employer           = 
| known_for          = Leading IBM's historic corporate turnaround in the 1990s<ref name=LVG-IBM-00/><ref name=LVG-IBM-01/>
| boards             = Chairman, [[Broad Institute|The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard]] (2013-2021)<br />Chairman, Gerstner Sloan Kettering Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences (2014-present)
| spouse             = Robin Gerstner
| children           = 2
| website            = {{url|www.gerstner.org}}
| footnotes          = 
}}

'''Louis Vincent Gerstner Jr.'''<!-- no "KBE" according to the manual of style --> (born March 1, 1942) is an American businessman, best known for his tenure as chairman  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 IBM's fortunes around.<ref name=LVG-IBM-00>{{cite news|url=https://www.forbes.com/2002/11/11/cx_ld_1112gerstner.html |title= How Lou Gerstner Got IBM To Dance| work=Forbes | access-date=April 26, 2012|date=November 11, 2002|first=Lisa|last=DiCarlo}}</ref><ref name=LVG-IBM-01>{{cite web|url=http://hbr.org/product/ibm-corp-turnaround/an/600098-PDF-ENG |title= IBM Corp. Turnaround| work=HBR.org | access-date=April 26, 2012}}</ref> Gerstner is chairman of Gerstner Philanthropies.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Welcome {{!}} Gerstner Family Foundation |url=https://gerstner.org |access-date=2024-11-04 |website=gerstner.org}}</ref>

Gerstner was formerly CEO of [[RJR Nabisco]], and held senior positions at [[American Express]] and [[McKinsey & Company]]. He is a graduate of [[Chaminade High School]] (1959), [[Dartmouth College]] (1963) and holds an MBA from the [[Harvard Business School]]

Gerstner was chairman of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard<ref name="Board of Directors">{{Cite web|title=Board of Directors|url=https://www.broadinstitute.org/people/board-directors|date=July 10, 2023|website=Broad Institute|language=en|access-date=August 22, 2023}}</ref> and is chairman emeritus of the board of the Gerstner Sloan Kettering Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Gerstner Sloan Kettering School of Biomedical Sciences Leadership|url=https://www.sloankettering.edu/gerstner/welcome/leadership}}</ref>

Gerstner is the author of ''Who Says Elephants Can't Dance'', about IBM's transformation; and co-author of the book ''Reinventing Education: Entrepreneurship in America's Public Schools''.

== American Express ==
Gerstner joined [[American Express]] in 1978 and headed its Travel Related Services unit.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kotter |first=John P. |title=Corporate Culture and Performance |publisher=Simon and Schuster |year=1992 |isbn=0-02-918467-3 |location=New York, NY |pages=88–89 |language=en}}</ref> Under his leadership, the company's market share increased significantly by 1985. He achieved this by finding new uses and users for the card, such as college students, physicians, and women, as well as persuading corporations to adopt the card as a more effective way of tracking business expenses. He also created exclusive versions of the card for higher-end clients, such as the Gold Card and the Platinum Card.

As sales and profits rebounded, Gerstner was promoted to chairman and [[chief executive officer]] of AmEx's 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 Leslie Wayne, "I hear that and I can't accept that. A workaholic can't take vacations and I take four weeks a year."<ref>{{cite web|title=American Express's Ace in the Hole|author=Leslie Wayne|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/06/30/business/american-express-s-ace-in-the-hole.html|website=[[The New York Times]] |date=June 30, 1985}}</ref>

As chairman and chief executive officer of the Travel Related Services division, Gerstner spearheaded its successful "membership has its privileges" promotion. Not only was the division continually the most profitable in the company, but it also led the entire financial services industry. Despite these successes, Gerstner hit a ceiling at American Express, as chief executive [[James D. Robinson III]] was not expected to retire for another 12 years. During Gerstner's 11-year tenure at American Express, membership had increased from 8.6 million to 30.7 million. He left AmEx in 1989 to succeed [[F. Ross Johnson|Ross Johnson]] as chairman and chief executive officer of [[RJR Nabisco]] following its $25 billion [[leveraged buyout]] by [[Kohlberg Kravis Roberts]].<ref>{{cite web|title=RJR Nabisco Hires Gerstner as CEO : American Express President Termed an Expert Marketer|author=Jesus Sanchez|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-03-14-fi-612-story.html|website=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=March 14, 1989}}</ref>

== IBM ==
Gerstner was hired as chairman and CEO of [[IBM]] in April 1993. Under pressure from investors, his predecessor [[John Fellows Akers|John Akers]] was forced to resign.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Hill |first1=Charles W. L. |title=Essentials of Strategic Management |last2=Jones |first2=Gareth R. |publisher=Cengage Learning |year=2011 |isbn=978-1-133-38712-1 |location=Boston, MA |pages=120 |language=en}}</ref> The board initially looked within the computer industry for his successor. However Apple's [[John Sculley]], [[Motorola]] chairman [[George M. C. Fisher|George Fisher]], and [[Bill Gates]] of [[Microsoft]] were not interested (other rumored candidates included [[Eckhard Pfeiffer]] of [[Compaq]] and [[Scott McNealy]] of [[Sun Microsystems]]). IBM then turned to Gerstner, an outsider with a record that suggested success<ref name="iconoclast">{{cite news|title=Profile: The iconoclast at IBM: Lou Gerstner enacted unprecedented cuts at the giant computer firm last week, but he will need to do more than wield the axe to revive it.|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/profile-the-iconoclast-at-ibm-lou-gerstner-enacted-unprecedented-cuts-at-the-giant-computer-firm-last-week-but-he-will-need-to-do-more-than-wield-the-axe-to-revive-it-rupert-cornwell-reports-1458529.html| location=London| work=The Independent|first=Rupert|last=Cornwell|date=August 1, 1993}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=IBM fires Akers and slashes dividend |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/ibm-fires-akers-and-slashes-dividend-1481080.html | location=London | work=The Independent | first=Larry | last=Black | date=January 27, 1993}}</ref> whose older brother Richard had run the company's PC division until retiring due to health issues four years earlier.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/profile-the-iconoclast-at-ibm-lou-gerstner-enacted-unprecedented-cuts-at-the-giant-computer-firm-last-week-but-he-will-need-to-do-more-than-wield-the-axe-to-revive-it-rupert-cornwell-reports-1458529.html | location=London | work=The Independent | first=Rupert | last=Cornwell | title=Profile: The iconoclast at IBM: Lou Gerstner enacted unprecedented cuts at the giant computer firm last week, but he will need to do more than wield the axe to revive it. Rupert Cornwell reports | date=August 1, 1993}}</ref> Gerstner was the first IBM CEO who was hired from outside the company.

Upon becoming chief executive of IBM, Gerstner declared: "the last thing IBM needs right now is a vision", as he instead focused on execution, decisiveness, simplifying the organization for speed, and breaking the gridlock.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lohr |first=Steve |date=2002-03-10 |title=He Loves to Win. At I.B.M., He Did. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/10/business/he-loves-to-win-at-ibm-he-did.html |access-date=2023-10-10 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Many expected heads to roll, yet Gerstner initially changed only the CFO, the HR chief, and three key line executives.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1999/06/21/261696/ | work=CNN | first1=Ram | last1=Charan | first2=Geoffrey | last2=Colvin | title=Why CEOs Fail It's rarely for lack of smarts or vision. Most unsuccessful CEOs stumble because of one simple, fatal shortcoming | date=June 21, 1999 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140118142933/http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1999/06/21/261696/ | archive-date=January 18, 2014 }}</ref><ref name="businessweek.com">{{cite web |url=http://www.businessweek.com/chapter/mills.htm |title=Broken Promises...at IBM |website=www.businessweek.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000817035012/http://www.businessweek.com/chapter/mills.htm |archive-date=2000-08-17}} </ref>

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 dis-aggregate 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 &mdash; the so-called "Baby Blues." Then-CEO John Akers decided that the logical and rational solution was to split IBM into autonomous business units (such as processors, storage, software, services, printers,) that could compete more effectively with competitors that were more focused and agile and had lower cost structures.<ref name=Denn>{{cite news| url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevedenning/2011/07/10/why-did-ibm-survive/ | work=Forbes | first=Steve | last=Denning | title=Why Did IBM Survive?}}</ref> 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.<ref name="businessweek.com"/> He discovered that the biggest problem that all major companies faced in 1993 was integrating all the separate computing technologies that were emerging at the time, and saw that IBM's unique competitive advantage was its ability to provide integrated solutions for customers – a company that could represent more than piece parts or components—something he only learned by going beyond just listening to the proponents of different technologies within IBM.<ref name=Denn/> His choice to keep the company together was the defining decision of his tenure, as these gave IBM the capabilities to deliver complete IT solutions to customers. Services could be sold as an add-on to companies that had already bought IBM computers, while barely profitable pieces of hardware were used to open the door to more profitable deals.<ref name="Yahoo404" />

One of the strategic visions that Gerstner set for IBM in 1993 was to make [[e-business]] its heart and soul. He believed in the potential of [[Business-to-business|B2B]] e-commerce and wanted to expand the application of the internet to more than just web-page browsing and consumer marketing. He argued that a network-centric approach would shift the workload from personal computers to larger enterprise-systems and allow the internet to be embedded into all aspects of business operations.<ref name="ebusiness">[https://www.ibm.com/ibm/history/ibm100/us/en/icons/ebusiness/ IBM100 - e-business - Overview]. Retrieved June 7, 2020</ref> IBM's initial vision for how e-business could transform the world included electronic debit services that would allow customers to place orders online and eventually shop at virtual stores, creating virtual databases of movies, books, and music that would be available from anywhere in the world, and more.<ref>[https://www.ibm.com/ibm/history/ibm100/us/en/icons/ebusiness/transform/ IBM100 - e-business - Transforming the World]. Retrieved June 7, 2020</ref> Soon after, Gerstner announced e-business as IBM's growth strategy and formed the IBM Internet Division, led by Irving Wladawsky-Berger. In 1996, IBM's marketing department established the term e-business for any kind of business or commercial transaction conducted over the internet.<ref>Gerstner, L. (2002). Who says Elephants Can't Dance? Inside IBM's Historic Turnaround. pg 172. {{ISBN|0-06-052379-4}}</ref> Under Gerstner, e-business transformed IBM and within six years, they became the market leader in providing the products and services needed to transform any of their customers businesses into a network-centric e-business.<ref name="ebusiness" />

While IBM had been credited with turning the [[personal computer]] (PC) into a mainstream product, the company could no longer monopolize its market. A proliferation of cheaper IBM-compatible [[PC clone]]s that used the same Intel chips and Microsoft operating system software simply undercut it and eroded market share. Outgoing IBM chairman and CEO Akers, a company lifer, was excessively immersed in its corporate culture, remaining loyal to traditional ways that masked the real threats.<ref name="iconoclast" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.djurdjevic.com/Bulletins/ibm-corporate/93-07.htm|title = Akers: A Nice Guy Who Lost His Compass (Jan 1993)}}</ref> As an outsider, Gerstner had no emotional attachment to long-suffering products IBM had developed to try to regain control of the PC market.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.good2work.com/article/8287 |title=How Lou Gerstner Got IBM to Dance - GOOD2WORK |access-date=June 18, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120325201855/http://www.good2work.com/article/8287 |archive-date=March 25, 2012 }}</ref> Gerstner wrote that in spite of [[OS/2]]'s technical superiority to the dominant Microsoft [[Windows 3.0]], his colleagues were "unwilling or unable to accept" that it was a "resounding defeat" as it "was draining tens of millions of dollars, absorbing huge chunks of senior management's time, and making a mockery of our image". By the end of 1994, IBM ceased new development of OS/2 software. IBM withdrew from the retail desktop PC market entirely, which had become unprofitable due to price pressures in the early 2000s. Three years after Gerstner's 2002 retirement, IBM sold the PC division to [[Lenovo]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.zdnet.co.uk/news/it-at-work/2011/06/17/ibm-at-100-a-prosperous-failure-40093143/|title=Technology News, Analysis, Comments and Product Reviews for IT Professionals}}</ref>

In his memoir, Gerstner described the turnaround as difficult and often wrenching for an IBM culture that had become insular and [[balkanized]]. After he arrived, over 100,000 employees were laid off from a company that had maintained a lifetime employment practice from its inception.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/12/22/nyregion/pain-layoffs-for-ex-senior-ibm-workers-dutchess-county-disorienting-time-for.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm | work=The New York Times | first=Joseph | last=Berger | title=The Pain of Layoffs for Ex-Senior I.B.M. Workers; In Dutchess County, a Disorienting Time for Employees Less Hardened to Job Loss | date=December 22, 1993}}</ref> Long allowed by their managers to believe that employment security had little reference to performance, thousands of IBM employees had grown lax, while the top-performing employees complained bitterly in attitude surveys.<ref name="businessweek.com"/> In the goal to create one common brand message for all IBM products and services around the world,<ref name=LVG-IBM-00/> under Gerstner's leadership the company consolidated its many advertising agencies down to just [[Ogilvy & Mather]]. Layoffs and other tough management measures continued in the first two years of his tenure, but the company was saved, and business success has continued to grow steadily since then.<ref name=LVG-IBM-00/><ref name=LVG-IBM-01/>

From 1993 to Gerstner's retirement in 2002, IBM's market capitalization rose from $29 billion to $168 billion.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-20/louis-gerstner-iii-son-of-celebrated-ibm-chairman-dies-at-41.html | work=Bloomberg | title=Louis Gerstner III, Son of Celebrated IBM Chairman, Dies at 41}}</ref> Despite his success<ref name="Yahoo404">{{cite web |url=https://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110616/ap_on_hi_te/us_tec_ibm_centennial |title=For a pioneer of technology, 100 years of "Think" - Yahoo! News |website=news.yahoo.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110618092500/http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110616/ap_on_hi_te/us_tec_ibm_centennial |archive-date=2011-06-18}} </ref> Gerstner also presided over the company's decline, relative to newer rivals, as it lost its once-dominant position in the IT industry. Microsoft grew beyond just PC software in the 1990s, hardware companies [[Apple Inc.|Apple]] and [[Dell]] expanded their market share, and entirely new entities such as the [[Google]] [[search engine]] emerged and created new computer-based business empires.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/ibm-at-100-a-prosperous-failure/|title=IBM at 100: A prosperous failure|website=[[ZDNet]]}}</ref> Gerstner was also the first highly-paid IBM CEO relative to his home-grown predecessors, earning a personal fortune of hundreds of millions in his role. His philosophy, quoted as "The importance of managers being aligned with shareholders—not through risk-free instruments like stock options, but through the process of putting their own money on the line through direct ownership of the company—became a critical part of the management philosophy I brought to IBM" has been criticized for IBM's management in the late 2000s becoming "fully isolated and immune from the long-term consequences of their decisions".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cringely.com/2014/06/04/decline-fall-ibm/|title=The Decline and Fall of IBM &#124; I, Cringely|date=June 4, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevedenning/2014/05/30/why-ibm-is-in-decline/|title = Why IBM is in Decline|website = [[Forbes]]}}</ref>

== Gerstner Philanthropies ==
Gerstner established the Gerstner Family Foundation in 1989<ref>{{cite web |title=Gerstner Family Foundation |url=https://gerstnerfamilyfoundation.org/ |access-date=April 8, 2019 |website=Gerstner Family Foundation}}</ref> and serves as the chairman. The Foundation primarily supports biomedical research, educational opportunities, environmental sustainability initiatives, and emergency assistance programs for people who have suffered a temporary setback and could use a “helping hand” to restore their equilibrium. Gerstner Philanthropies, which encompasses all of Gerstner's philanthropic giving, has made over $300 million in grants to date. In 2023, over $29 million was granted across all program areas.<ref>{{cite web |title=Our Impact & Approach &#124; Gerstner Family Foundation |url=https://gerstner.org/impact-approach |access-date=22 May 2024 |website=Gerstner.org}}</ref> In June 2023, Gerstner published an opinion piece in the [[The Wall Street Journal|Wall Street Journal]], highlighting the impact of the Foundation's Helping Hands program and its approach to preventing homelessness.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Jr |first=Louis V. Gerstner |date=2023-06-29 |title=Opinion {{!}} Stop Homelessness Before It Starts |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/stop-homelessness-before-it-starts-philanthropy-gersnter-new-york-b1259a47 |access-date=2023-09-06 |work=Wall Street Journal |language=en-US |issn=0099-9660}}</ref>

== Post-IBM ==

In January 2003, Gerstner assumed the position of chairman of [[The Carlyle Group]], a [[Washington, D.C.]] global [[private equity]] firm.<ref>{{Cite book |last=McCann |first=Leo |title=International and Comparative Business: Foundations of Political Economies |publisher=SAGE |year=2014 |isbn=978-1-4129-4875-3 |location=Thousand Oaks, CA |pages=67 |language=en}}</ref> He served as chairman from January 2003 until October 2008 and upon retiring from that position, he continued as a senior advisor to Carlyle through September 2016.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Heath |first1=Thomas |title=Louis V. Gerstner Jr. lays out his post-IBM life |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/louis-v-gerstner-jr-lays-out-his-post-ibm-life/2013/06/07/04e9da2a-cd42-11e2-8845-d970ccb04497_story.html |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=31 May 2022}}</ref>

Gerstner held the position of chairman of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard from January 2013 – through May 2021.<ref>{{cite web |title=Eric Schmidt appointed incoming Chair of the Broad Institute Board of Directors |url=https://www.broadinstitute.org/news/eric-schmidt-appointed-incoming-chair-broad-institute-board-directors |website=broadinstitute.org |date=April 22, 2021 |access-date=1 June 2022}}</ref>

== Honors ==
In 1991, Gerstner received the Golden Plate Award of the [[Academy of Achievement|American Academy of Achievement]].<ref>{{cite web|title= Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement |website=www.achievement.org|publisher=[[American Academy of Achievement]]|url=https://achievement.org/our-history/golden-plate-awards/#business}}</ref>

Gerstner was elected a member of the [[National Academy of Engineering]] in 1999 for technical leadership in enhancing the competitiveness of U.S. industry.

In recognition of his work on behalf of public education, as well as his business accomplishments, Gerstner was awarded the designation of honorary Knight Commander of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II in June 2001.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Shannon |first1=Victoria |last2=Tribune |first2=International Herald |date=2001-06-20 |title=Tech Brief:IBM'S ROYALTY |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/06/20/business/worldbusiness/IHT-tech-briefibms-royalty.html |access-date=2023-07-26 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

He has received numerous awards for his work in education, among them the Cleveland E. Dodge Medal for Distinguished Service to Education from [[Teachers College, Columbia University]], and the Distinguished Service to Science and Education award from the American Museum of Natural History. In 2008, Gerstner received the Legend in Leadership Award from the [[Yale School of Management]].

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book | author = Peter E. Greulich | year = 2014 | title = A View from Beneath the Dancing Elephant: Rediscovering IBM's Corporate Constitution | publisher = MBI Concepts Corporation }} {{ISBN|0-9833734-6-9}}
* Gerstner, Jr., Louis V. (2002). ''Who Says Elephants Can't Dance?'' HarperCollins. {{ISBN|0-00-715448-8}}.
* {{cite book | author = Doug Garr | year = 1999 | title = IBM Redux: Lou Gerstner & The Business Turnaround of the Decade | publisher = Harper Business }}
* {{cite book | author = Robert Slater | year = 1999 | title = Saving Big Blue: IBM's Lou Gerstner | publisher = McGraw Hill }}
{{wikiquote}}

==External links==
*[https://gerstner.org/founder Official biography of Louis V. Gerstner, Jr.] 
*[https://gerstner.org/downloads/LVG-Bio-Profile.pdf Full Biographical Profile of Louis V. Gerstner, Jr.]
*[https://newsroom.ibm.com/former-CEOs?item=30048 IBM's biography of Gerstner]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20081007105530/http://www.carlyle.com/Team/item5589.html The Carlyle Group's biography of Gerstner]
*[http://www.gerstnerfamilyfoundation.org Website for the Gerstner Family Foundation]
*{{C-SPAN|5331}}

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{{succession box|title=[[IBM|CEO of IBM]]
|                 before=[[John F. Akers]]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Gerstner, Louis}}
[[Category:1942 births]]
[[Category:American chief executives of Fortune 500 companies]]
[[Category:American Express people]]
[[Category:20th-century American Jews]]
[[Category:American technology chief executives]]
[[Category:Chaminade High School alumni]]
[[Category:Dartmouth College alumni]]
[[Category:Harvard Business School alumni]]
[[Category:Honorary Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:IBM employees]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:McKinsey & Company people]]
[[Category:Members of the Steering Committee of the Bilderberg Group]]
[[Category:Members of the United States National Academy of Engineering]]
[[Category:People from Mineola, New York]]
[[Category:21st-century American Jews]]
[[Category:The Carlyle Group people]]