Lewis E. Platt

Lewis E. Platt, called Lew Platt, ( born April 11, 1941 in Johnson City, NY; † September 8, 2005 in Petaluma ) was an American manager and former president of Hewlett -Packard.

Life

Lew Platt completed his engineering degree in 1964 with a Bachelor's degree from Cornell University in Ithaca and completed his MBA at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia in 1966 from. Lew Platt also received an honorary doctorate in engineering from Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, California.

He worked from 1966 to 1999 at the Hewlett- Packard Company (HP), first on an entry-level position as engineer. He was appointed Executive Vice President in 1987. He succeeded John A. Young in the role of CEO (Chief Executive Officer ) in 1992. He even became chair of the Executive Committee at Hewlett -Packard in 1993 and so came to the immediate successor of company founder David Packard. Under Platts leadership Agilent Technologies was spun off from HP. In 1999 he retired from the company, which was henceforth led by Carly Fiorina.

President Bill Clinton nominated Lew Platt 1995 the Advisory Committee on Trade Policy and Negotiations, where he was chairman of the World Trade Organization Task Force. In addition, Platt was a member of the Business Council.

After his departure from Hewlett -Packard, he headed for two years (2000 to mid-2001 ) the fate of a much smaller company, the Kendall- Jackson Wine Estates.

Until his death Platt Director (Supervisory Board) of The Boeing Company, an aircraft manufacturer, where he wanted to restore as its Chairman from December 2003 to July 2005, the independence of the Supervisory Board (Board of Directors ) and the search for a successor to Philip Condit and Harry was Stonecipher led. Phil Condit, Boeing had left in December 2003 due to irregularities in the procurement of the Pentagon to Boeing. Henry Stonecipher resigned after an affair with a colleague. Platt was a member of the Board of Directors of The Boeing Company since 1999.

Lew Platt won several awards, including the 1991 Catalyst Award for the promotion of women in leadership positions and in 1995 the top managers of the business magazine Business Week.

Lewis E. Platt died on 8 September 2005 to a brain aneurysm in California where he last lived. He is survived by his wife, Joan Ellen Redmund Platt and his four daughters Caryn, Laura, Amanda and Hillary.