Brain Archive

Gerstner, Louis

Louis V. Gerstner, Jr., was named chairman and chief executive officer of International Business Machines Corporation on April 1, 1993. Prior to joining IBM, Mr. Gerstner served for four years as chairman and chief executive officer of RJR Nabisco, Inc. This was preceded by an 11-year career at American Express Company, where he was president of the parent company and chairman and CEO of its largest subsidiary, American Express Travel Related Services Company. Prior to that, Mr. Gerstner was a director of the management consulting firm of McKinsey & Co., Inc., which he joined in 1965. A native of Mineola, New York, Mr. Gerstner received a bachelor's degree in engineering from Dartmouth College in 1963 and an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1965. In 1994 he was awarded an honorary doctorate of business administration from Boston College, in 1997 honorary doctorate of laws from both Wake Forest University and Brown University, and in 1999 an honorary doctorate of engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Mr. Gerstner is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

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