Louis Gerstner Biography, Books, and Similar Authors

Louis Gerstner Biography

Lou Gerstner, Jr., is an American businessman, best known for his tenure as chairman of the board and chief executive officer of IBM. He served as chairman and chief executive officer of IBM from April 1993 until March 2002, when he retired as CEO. He remained chairman of the board through the end of 2002. He is largely credited with turning around IBM's fortunes.

Before joining IBM, Mr. Gerstner served for four years as chairman and CEO of RJR Nabisco, Inc. This was preceded by an eleven-year career at the American Express Company, where he was president of the parent company and chairman and CEO of its largest subsidiary. Prior to that, Mr. Gerstner was a director of the management consulting firm of McKinsey & Co., Inc.

He received a bachelor's degree in engineering from Dartmouth College and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

In January, 2003, he assumed the position of chairman of The Carlyle Group, a global private equity firm located in Washington, DC. He retired from that position in October 2008 and remains a senior advisor to The Carlyle Group.

In January 2013, Broad Institute announced that Gerstner will serve as Chairman of Broad Institute Board of Directors.

He has authored his memoir, Who Says Elephants Can't Dance.

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