By Moz Farooque ACCA
Publication Date: 2025-12-29 17:28:00
This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) is remembering one of the leaders most closely tied to its survival. Lou Gerstner, who ran IBM from 1993 to 2002 and led its landmark turnaround, died Saturday at age 83.
When Gerstner took the job in the early 1990s, IBM was in serious trouble. The company was losing money, losing relevance, and openly debating whether it should be broken apart. Gerstner, who came from outside the tech world, made a call that defined his legacy: keep IBM together.
He cut costs aggressively, sold non-core assets, and refocused the company on integrated services for big corporate clients, a shift that helped stabilize IBM and reshape its future.
Current CEO Arvind Krishna told employees that Gerstner stepped in when IBM’s future was genuinely uncertain and changed its course. Before IBM, Gerstner led RJR Nabisco and spent more than a decade at American Express. Gerstner didn’t just run IBM, he…
