For those who aren't already aware, I forward this sad news with a
heavy heart ... (01)
With my sincerest condolence to Lew's surviving famil members, (02)
Peter Yim '73
<ppy3@cornell.edu>
-- (03)
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Cornell Silicon Valley <shm4@cornell.edu>
Date: Sep 14, 2005 7:20 PM
Subject: In Memory of Lew Platt '63
To: List Member <peter.yim@cim3.com> (04)
Hi all, as many know by now, Lew Platt '63 died last Thursday here in
California. (05)
Lew was an integral part of the CSV community. A cheery, charismatic,
and tireless supporter of Cornell, many will remember his role as a
Cornell Silicon Valley Advisor. He gave the keynote address at
"Cornell and the Business of Life Sciences" in April of '02, and
served on the panel of "50 Silicon Valley History Lessons" in January
of '04. (06)
I worked closely with him on many occasions and can personally attest
to all the wonderful things you've read about his strong sense of
ethics and diversity. I also remember him for the way he wrote emails.
Any one who has ever exchanged emails with him will surely remember
the Lew Platt email signature; emails written in grammatically correct
English forged with full sentences. It was a charming throw-back to an
earlier era that always made you feel like he cared about his
communications with you. (07)
When we asked him to speak in January of '04 he had not yet committed
to the Boeing job and I fully expected he would cancel with us once it
was announced. But that wasn't like Lew at all. The event was called
"50 Silicon Valley History Lessons" and each presenter gave us 5 ideas
in advance which we printed and they discussed at the event. I thought
you might enjoy reading Lew's contributions. An obituary from the San
Francisco Chronicle follows that. (08)
For the sake of the privacy of his family I will not publish an
address, but if you would like to email or snail mail me your own
condolences I will be happy to forward these for you. I am sure his
wife Joan would treasure these. My address is Shannon Murray, Cornell
University, 51 Pearl Street, SF, CA 94103 (09)
Regards, (010)
:)Shannon (011)
Shannon Murray '94
Director, Cornell Silicon Valley
www.csv.cornell.edu
650.755.9711
shm4@cornell.edu (012)
-----Original Message-----
From: lewplatt
Sent: Tuesday, December 30, 2003 5:51 PM
To: shm4@cornell.edu
Subject: January 11th Event (013)
Shannon, here are the five ideas I'll speak about during the January
11th event at The Computer History Museum. Please let me know if you
need anything else before the event. (014)
1. When you have an idea, there's a good chance someone else is
already working on it. You need to move quickly if you don't want to
be beaten to market. (015)
2. Consumers don't always adopt "great" new ideas quickly. Market
testing new ideas can save considerable waste. (016)
3. Never underestimate the latent energy in your organization. People
almost always have the capacity to do more and will if they're highly
motivated to achieve a worthwhile goal. (017)
4. Technological change will always be more rapid than you estimate it
will be. It takes a bold vision to achieve technological leadership. (018)
5. Diverse organizations always make better decisions. Diversity
represented by race, ethnicity, gender and sexual orientation leads to
greater creativity and broader thinking. (019)
I look forward to seeing you on the 11th. (020)
Best regards,
Lew (021)
----------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LEWIS PLATT : An Appreciation
He 'embodied the best aspects of the HP Way'
CEO who led Palo Alto company in the '90s also served as lead director at Boeing
- Benjamin Pimentel, Chronicle Staff Writer
Saturday, September 10, 2005 (022)
Lewis Platt, who served as Hewlett-Packard CEO in the 1990s, was
remembered Friday as a kind-hearted leader who represented the best of
the Palo Alto giant's employee-friendly culture. (023)
Platt, who also served as lead director at Boeing Corp., died Thursday at 64. (024)
"He was a great business leader, but I think he'll be remembered most
as someone who truly embodied the best aspects of the HP Way
personally," said former HP executive Roy Verley, who worked closely
with Platt. (025)
In a statement, HP's current CEO, Mark Hurd, called Platt "a natural
leader who was enormously well liked." (026)
"The way he treated people and how he ran the company set an
exceptionally high standard of personal decency," Hurd said. (027)
In a statement, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, where Platt
served as a trustee, said, "His integrity, clear-mindedness and
genuine thoughtfulness came through again and again in any setting.
Whether meeting with top-level government officials or engaging with a
room full of preschoolers, Lew was equally adept and at ease." (028)
Born in 1941 in Johnson City, N.Y., Platt earned a bachelor's degree
in mechanical engineering from Cornell University and a master's
degree in business administration from the Wharton School of Business. (029)
He joined HP in 1966 and later assumed management positions in HP's
medical products business. (030)
He was elected president and CEO in 1992. He also later took over as
chairman in 1993 after the retirement of Dave Packard. (031)
Verley recalled attending a meeting in which Platt discussed his new
role with HP co-founders Dave Packard and Bill Hewlett. (032)
"Packard made it clear that he was choosing Lew not just because of
his business acumen and leadership skills, but because he embodied the
HP Way," he said. "That was exactly what Packard said to him." (033)
The HP Way allowed employees to work flexible hours and share in
company profits. They were encouraged to speak up on any company issue
or policy. Instead of offices, employees and managers worked in
cubicles. (034)
Verley said Platt was particularly supportive of policies that made it
easier for employees to do their work while taking care of their
families. (035)
Platt had first-hand knowledge of the difficulties of balancing work
and family. He became a single parent after his first wife died. (036)
"He never forgot what it was like," Verley said. (037)
Under Platt, HP became one of the first companies to adopt formal
policies in support of telecommuting. (038)
David Kirby, who worked at HP for more than 25 years, described Platt
as a "tremendously thoughtful" executive who took the trouble to thank
an individual employee for doing a good job. (039)
Verley, who served as HP's director of corporate communications under
Platt, recalled how easily he mingled with employees: "He'd come and
sit down and pull up a chair in the cafeteria with Joe Average
employee." (040)
"He was the kind of person who was very, very comfortable sitting down
with the rank and file, and they were always comfortable with him. He
was never an intimidating figure, and he never tried to be. Yet he was
a tall and dignified individual, and there was never any doubt that he
was a strong leader." (041)
Under Platt, HP competed more heavily in the rapidly growing computer
industry. It introduced new business machines as well as the HP
Pavilion personal computer. (042)
But HP was also criticized for reacting too slowly to the emergence of
the Internet and falling behind rivals such as IBM, Sun Microsystems
and Dell. (043)
"Lew didn't shirk from that (criticism)," Verley said. "He was not the
guy out in front of the pack identifying the next big thing. But he
was exceptional at picking the best ideas out of a bunch. ... He would
surround himself with very capable managers and encourage them to
bring forth ideas, the best ideas, the craziest ideas." (044)
Platt presided over the spin-off of HP's test and measurement division
as Agilent Technologies. (045)
He retired from HP in 1999 and was replaced by Carly Fiorina. Although
he helped Fiorina adjust to her new role, relations between the two
grew strained. Verley said Platt "had issues with her management
style, which was different from his." (046)
Fiorina was fired by the HP board earlier this year. (047)
Platt served as chief executive of Kendall-Jackson Wine Estates from
2000 until mid-2001. (048)
He joined Boeing Corp.'s board of directors in 1999, serving as
non-executive chairman from December 2003 through June of this year. (049)
His tenure coincided with a difficult period for the aerospace giant,
which has been accused of illegal conduct in its bid to secure federal
contracts. (050)
In a statement, Boeing CEO James McNerney said Platt "shepherded
Boeing with strength, grace, dignity and integrity through a period
when the company most needed his steady hand." (051)
The cause of Platt's death was not immediately known, a Boeing
spokesman said. He is survived by his wife, Joan, and four children. (052)
Funeral arrangements are pending. (053)
E-mail Benjamin Pimentel at bpimentel@sfchronicle.com. (054)
Page C - 1
URL: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/09/10/BUGJ1EL9TI1.DTL (055)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(c)2005 San Francisco Chronicle
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