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Louis Vincent Gerstner Jr. (born March 1, 1942 in Mineola, New York) is an American businessman, best known for his tenure as chairman of the board and chief executive officer of IBM from April 1993 until 2002 when he retired as CEO in March and chairman in December. He is largely credited with turning around IBM's fortunes.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title= IBM Corp. Turnaround )〕 He was formerly CEO of RJR Nabisco, and also held senior positions at American Express and McKinsey & Company. He is a graduate of Chaminade High School (1959), Dartmouth College (1963) and holds an MBA from the Harvard Business School. He is a former member of the Steering Committee of the Bilderberg Group. == American Express == Gerstner joined American Express in 1978 as the executive vice president of its charge card division. A year later he was named president of the Travel Related Services group, which was responsible for American Express cards, traveler's cheques, and travel-service offices. At this time, MasterCard and Visa had begun to compete for the company's market share. Gerstner found new uses and users for the card. In 1980 most department stores did not accept American Express cards — by 1985 retail sales were second only to airline tickets in card purchases. College students, physicians, and women were singled out in various marketing pushes. Corporations were persuaded to adopt the card as a more effective way of tracking business expenses. Gerstner also created exclusive versions appealing to higher-end clients, such as the Gold Card, which carried an annual fee of $65 and came with a $2,000 line of credit, and the Platinum Card, which had a $250 annual fee, a $10,000 check-cashing benefit, and private club memberships for traveling executives. As sales and profits rebounded Gerstner was promoted to chairman and chief executive officer of AmEx's Travel Related Services in 1982, and president of the parent company in 1985. Although he claimed the position at the age of 43, Gerstner dismissed the speculation that his success was the product of being a workaholic. Gerstner told Leslie Wayne,〔Wayne, Leslie, "American Express's Ace in the Hole," New York Times , June 30, 1985〕 "I hear that and I can't accept that. A workaholic can't take vacations and I take four weeks a year" (June 30, 1985). As chairman and chief executive officer of the Travel Related Services division, Gerstner spearheaded its successful "membership has its privileges" promotion. Not only was the division continually the most profitable in the company, it led the entire financial services industry. Despite these successes, Gerstner hit a ceiling at American Express, as chief executive James D. Robinson III was not expected to retire for another 12 years. The analyst Perrin Long at Lipper Analytical told the Los Angeles Times: "Lou is a very personable guy. But more than anything else, he is a leader more than a follower" (March 14, 1989). During Gerstner's 11-year tenure at American Express, membership had increased from 8.6 million to 30.7 million. He left AmEx in 1989 to succeed Ross Johnson as chairman and chief executive officer of RJR Nabisco following its $25 billion leveraged buyout by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Louis V. Gerstner Jr.」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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