Fw: Press Release - IBM TURNS 100
Muhammad Shuja
| From: | Pooja Dawani/Pakistan/Contr/IBM |
| To: | |
| Date: | 06/16/2011 01:58 PM |
| Subject: | Press Release - IBM TURNS 100 |
IBM TURNS 100
Chairman and CEO Samuel J. Palmisano Says
Managing for the Long Term Will Drive Growth for Next 100 Years;
Karachi, Pakistan, 16 June, 2011: IBM (NYSE: IBM) today is marking the 100-year anniversary of its founding on June 16, 1911. To celebrate the milestone, the company today released a book, “Making the World Work Better: The Ideas That Shaped a Century and a Company,” debuted a new film “Wild Ducks” [link to You Tube of film] and marked the anniversary by ringing the Opening Bell at the New York Stock Exchange.
During its first century, IBM has played a leading role in transforming business, science and society. The company’s history can be seen as a succession of key milestones – from investing in a research lab in the depths of the Great Depression, to developing the first hard disk drive that created the data storage industry, to working with the U.S. government to develop the Social Security System. It continued with such “big bets” as a radical new computing model, the System/360 mainframe, the invention of the UPC code, the invention of the IBM Personal Computer that launched the PC revolution, and the recent development of Watson, the computer that triumphed on the TV game show Jeopardy!.
Chairman of the Board, President and CEO Samuel J. Palmisano identified the key lesson IBM has learned over 100 years: In order to succeed for the long term, you must manage for the long term.
“For IBMers, long-term thinking means continually
moving to the future,” he said. “IBM has survived and thrived for 100
years by remaining true to our core values, while being ready to change
everything else. This has allowed us to transform technology, business
and society through our first century, and we believe it will enable us
to achieve even more in our second.”
One of the oldest living IBM alumni, Luis
A. Lamassonne is 105 years old and resides in Miami, Florida. He
joined IBM in 1933 and worked at the company for 38 years, rising to become
an executive in Latin America. Reflecting on IBM’s Centennial today,
Lamassonne said, "IBM has always been one of the best companies. The
company is special because of the people. I have faith that IBM will
survive for many more years, for another century."
Series of IBM Centennial Initiatives
Planned
IBM will use its Centennial to engage with
business leaders, academia, clients and local communities in the 170 countries
the company does business through a year-long initiative.
IBM Centennial celebration highlights
include:
· Book
- IBM is releasing a business book
entitled, “Making the World Work Better: The Ideas That Shaped a Century
and a Company.” Written by award-winning journalists Steve
Hamm, Kevin Maney, and Jeffrey M. O’Brien, the book chronicles the ways
the world has changed over the past century in technology, business and
the way progress happens, and the role IBM has played in these changes.
· Films
– IBM is debuting short films
throughout the year to celebrate the company’s corporate culture and innovations.
IBM is debuting “Wild Ducks” [insert link to YouTube], a
tribute to IBM clients who have defied conventional wisdom through new
approaches to building their business. They include Howard Shapiro,
chief scientist at the Mars Corporation, and Sunil Mittal, founder and
CEO of Bharti Enterprises, the largest telecom company in India. “Wild
Ducks” is directed by Davis Guggenheim, an Oscar-winner for the documentary
"An Inconvenient Truth." The new film follows other
IBM Centennial films this year: "100
x 100" - a fast-paced, year-by-year
chronicle of IBM's history, and "They
Were There," which explores
significant moments in IBM history told through first-person accounts by
key innovators including the invention of the UPC code, helping to put
a man on the moon, and developing the Personal Computer.
· Celebration
of Service -- Throughout the year, IBM employees worldwide will
significantly increase service [insert link to June 15 press release] in
their local communities. On June 15, more than 300,000 IBM employees,
retirees, their families and clients donated more than 2.5 million hours
of service (the equivalent of 850 years of service), applying their business
skills and work experiences to address community challenges and societal
needs. Additionally, the company is expanding its community service grants
by 140 percent over the previous year for not for profit organizations
globally that partner with IBMers in their service activities.
· Icons
of Progress - IBM has curated 100 milestones that have shaped the company
and the world in the last century – from the technology driving the Social
Security System in the U.S., to the invention of the floppy disk, the creation
of the first corporate science research laboratory, and the establishment
of the Corporate Service Corps (a corporate version of the Peace Corps).
Rich content and unique visual marks illustrate the 100 Icons
of Progress. The list is
being revealed throughout the year.
· IBM
Colloquia - Through a series of business and academic forums,
IBM will convene key influencers to spur conversations about future advances
in science and technology and how they will affect such fields as health
care, environment and the information technology (IT) industry. The
colloquia will convene scientists, academics, business and government leaders
at IBM Research laboratories around the world to discuss how emerging trends
will impact business and society. IBM will hold events in Australia, Brazil,
China, India, Israel, Japan, Switzerland and the United States.
· IBM
Lecture Series – IBM is partnering with leading universities around the
world to engage tomorrow’s leaders in discussions about what 100 years
has taught it about driving progress in business, technology and society.
The series includes lectures
by senior IBM executives at universities such as Copenhagen Business School
in Denmark, HEC Paris in France, Tsinghua University in Beijing, China,
and the University of Chicago in the U.S.
· THINK:
A Forum on the Future of Leadership – In September, IBM will engage and
convene 700 leaders at a forum
in New York City to discuss the forces that are making our planet smarter
and creating enormous potential for economic growth and societal progress.
The company will explore the role of the modern corporation in realizing
this potential, and it will examine how our model of leadership must evolve
to meet the challenges of the 21st century across business, technology
and society.
For more information on the IBM Centennial,
visit: www.ibm100.com.
# # #
Editors: Visit IBM’s Centennial Press Room
to obtain historical images, a snapshot of milestones and additional press
releases on IBM’s Centennial at www.ibm.com/press/ibm100
Participate in the social conversation by
including #IBM100 in a tweet.
Registered journalists and bloggers can download
b-roll about IBM’s Centennial at www.thenewsmarket.com/ibm100
Photos are available on the Associated Press
Photo Network and on the Internet at Feature Photo Service’s link on Newscom
at www.newscom.com
Regards
Pooja Dawani
Communications Analyst
IBM Pakistan
UAN: 111-IBM-IBM (111-426-426)
Tel: +92-21-32915000