CEO who rescued IBM from the doldrums grooms successor Search by ticker symbol, abbreviation or company name Ticker Abrv. Company Quick Quote Capsule CEO who rescued IBM from the doldrums grooms successor By Mark Boslet Industry Standard 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. 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.