Louis V. Gerstner, Jr.
| Louis V. Gerstner Jr. | |
|---|---|
Lou Gerstner ca. 1995
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| Born |
Louis Vincent Gerstner Jr. March 1, 1942 Mineola, New York, U.S. |
| Alma mater |
Dartmouth College (B.E.) Harvard Business School (MBA) |
| Occupation | Former Chairman and CEO, RJR Nabisco (1989-1993) Former Chairman and CEO, IBM (1993-2002) Former Chairman, The Carlyle Group (2003-2008) |
| Known for | Leading IBM's historic corporate turnaround in the 1990s |
| Net worth | $630 million (2002 estimate) |
Louis Vincent Gerstner Jr. (born March 1, 1942 in Mineola, New York) is an American businessman, best known for his tenure as 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.
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 (1959), Dartmouth College (1963) and holds an MBA from the Harvard Business School. He is a former member of the Steering Committee of the Bilderberg Group.
Gerstner joined American Express in 1978 as the executive vice president 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. Gerstner found new uses and users for the card. In 1980 most department stores did not accept American Express cards — by 1985 retail sales were second only to airline tickets in card purchases. College students, physicians, and women were singled out in various marketing pushes. Corporations were persuaded to adopt the card as a more effective way of tracking business expenses. Gerstner also created exclusive versions appealing to higher-end clients, such as the Gold Card, which carried an annual fee of $65 and came with 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.
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