Lou Gerstner, architect of IBM's turnaround, dies at 83

Arvind Krishna, IBM's CEO, confirmed in an official message to employees that Lou Gerstner, IBM's Chairman and CEO from 1993 to 2002, has died. He was 83.

- By Shrikanth G

Lou Gerstner, IBM CEO from 1993-2002, has died at 83. He kept IBM together, reset it around clients and services, and reshaped its culture.

Gerstner happens to be the first outsider (IBM had a long tradition of promoting CEOs from within its own ranks. Gerstner broke that pattern. He came in from outside the company and outside IBM's internal culture and career ladder after senior roles at places like McKinsey, American Express, and RJR Nabisco) to run the company at a time when its future looked genuinely uncertain. The industry was changing fast, IBM's business was under pressure, and there was serious debate about whether IBM should remain whole. Gerstner's tenure is now widely viewed as one of the most defining corporate turnarounds of the modern era.

A CEO WHO RESET IBM AROUND CLIENTS

In an official message, Krishna said Gerstner reshaped the company not by looking backward, but by focusing relentlessly on what clients would need next.

Krishna looked back and captured how Gerstner navigated the business with a unique management style. He writes: One early moment captured that shift. In the middle of a long internal presentation, Gerstner stopped the room and said, simply, “Let's just talk.” The message was clear: less inward focus, more real discussion, and much closer attention to customers.

Krishna noted that Gerstner believed IBM had become optimised around its own processes, debates, A journey that spanned industries, and a life beyond the corner office.