Former IBM Chairman and CEO Louis Gerstner died on Saturday at the age of 83. IBM's current chairman and CEO Arvind Krishna sent an email to all employees on Sunday announcing Gerstner's death, but did not mention the specific cause of death. "Gerstner took over IBM at a time when the future of the company was in jeopardy," Krishna said in an email. "His leadership during his tenure reshaped the entire company. He did not dwell on the past, but always focused on the future needs of customers."
Gerstner spent his career working at American Express and McKinsey before becoming CEO of Reynolds Nabisco. In April 1993, he jumped to IBM from Reynolds-Nabisco, becoming the first non-internally promoted helmsman in the history of the company known as "Big Blue".
During his nine years at the helm of the computer giant, Gerstner is credited with steering IBM out of bankruptcy and driving the company's strategic shift toward business services. He dramatically reshaped IBM's corporate culture and core business while optimizing the company's operations through cost cuts, asset sales and stock buybacks.
In 2002, Gerstner stepped down as CEO of IBM. At that time, IBM's stock price had increased by approximately 800% from the beginning of his tenure. He then served as chairman of The Carlyle Group until his official retirement in 2008.
Gerstner is the author of "Who Says Elephants Can't Dance?" ", and co-authored "Reinventing Education: Entrepreneurship in American Public Schools." He has served on the boards of several companies, including Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, The New York Times Company, American Express Company, AT&T Company, and Caterpillar Company.
Gerstner is passionate about American public education and launched an initiative within IBM to promote the application of company technology in campus teaching scenarios.
In 1989, he founded the Gerstner Philanthropic Foundation, which includes the Gerstner Family Foundation, focusing on funding projects in the fields of biomedical research, environment and education, as well as social welfare services serving New York City, Boston and Palm Beach County, Florida.