Mark Boslet Lou Gerstner is not one to mince words. He took his struggling blue chip to the woodshed and got it focused on fundamentals like execution and management accountability. Now the dot-coms are gone, and Sun, as well as other former highfliers such as Cisco Systems and EMC, are reeling from the worst downturn in the industry's history. In contrast, IBM is looking strong.
Technology is hard work.
But now, with IBM at a peak, Gerstner is thinking about turning in his business cards. He recently confirmed months-long speculation that he's transitioning toward retirement and publicly recognized his heir apparent, company COO and President Sam Palmisano. While the change in leadership comes at a time when IBM has rediscovered prosperity, keeping it in this shape will require constant tending. Services, along with sales of chips and server software, have driven growth. But IBM's Unix servers, though much improved, haven't earned the cachet that competitor Sun enjoys.