Gerstner Rides To The Rescue
By 1993, a sprawling IBM was losing money, and for the first time the company reached outside its ranks to hire a new CEO. McKinsey, American Express, and RJR Nabisco veteran Lou Gerstner slashed costs--and in a first at IBM cut tens of thousands of employees--but he also resisted calls to break IBM into separate companies. Over the next decade, IBM divested low-margin businesses, including DRAM, networking, personal printers, and hard drives, but channeled new investment into software and services, buying, most notably, Lotus Software and PricewaterhouseCoopers.
RECOMMENDED READING:
Inside Watson, IBM's Jeopardy Computer
What's At Stake In IBM's Jeopardy Challenge?
IBM: From Networked Business To Social Media
IBM Shows Tools For Smarter City Management
IBM Empowers Smarter Cities
Computer History Museum Tour
Great Lost Software: 16 Gone But Not Forgotten