PRESIDENT OF IBM

Succession.

Taking over an industry giant is never easy, but replacing a legend is even more challenging. Thomas Watson, Jr., had to do both when he assumed command of IBM from his father in 1952. Watson, Sr., had been the company's president since 1915, bringing his experiences from his previous work as a corporate officer at the successful National Cash Register Corporation to IBM. He dominated IBM with his personality and infused it with a spirit exemplified by his one-word motto THINK. Under Watson, Sr., IBM rarely made the great technological breakthroughs but always caught up with or passed its competition with superior sales and service.

UNI VAC.

When Thomas Watson, Jr., took over, IBM entered the computer market to compete with Remington-Rand's UNI VAC, a vacuum-tube technology computer. Watson allowed his competitors to develop new technologies, such as the transistorized...