I was very sad to learn of Lew's passing. He was helping CHM
interface with Boeing to secure the copyrights and trademarks for
Augment, and I had just exchanged email with him a couple of weeks
before. It's a great shock to realize that he is gone, and that none
of us will have the pleasure of interacting with him again. (01)
As you know, I was at HP for a number of years. I had the privilege
of working with Lew on several corporate level committees, both
before and after he became CEO. It would be hard to overstate the
level of respect and genuine affection everyone who met him had for
him. He was a gentleman in the very best sense of the word. One of
the things I'll never forget is his decision to step down as CEO when
it became clear to him, as he saw the market and HP changing, that he
was no longer to best person for the job. That takes guts, honesty,
and humility. Lew had all three, and I'll always respect him for that. (02)
At 08:27 PM 9/14/2005, Peter Yim wrote:
>For those who aren't already aware, I forward this sad news with a
>heavy heart ...
>
>With my sincerest condolence to Lew's surviving famil members,
>
>Peter Yim '73
><ppy3@cornell.edu>
>--
>
>
>---------- 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>
>
>
>Hi all, as many know by now, Lew Platt '63 died last Thursday here in
>California.
>
>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.
>
>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.
>
>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.
>
>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
>
>Regards,
>
>:)Shannon
>
>Shannon Murray '94
>Director, Cornell Silicon Valley
>www.csv.cornell.edu
>650.755.9711
>shm4@cornell.edu
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: lewplatt
>Sent: Tuesday, December 30, 2003 5:51 PM
>To: shm4@cornell.edu
>Subject: January 11th Event
>
>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.
>
>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.
>
>2. Consumers don't always adopt "great" new ideas quickly. Market
>testing new ideas can save considerable waste.
>
>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.
>
>4. Technological change will always be more rapid than you estimate it
>will be. It takes a bold vision to achieve technological leadership.
>
>5. Diverse organizations always make better decisions. Diversity
>represented by race, ethnicity, gender and sexual orientation leads to
>greater creativity and broader thinking.
>
>I look forward to seeing you on the 11th.
>
>Best regards,
>Lew
>
>----------------
>--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>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
>
>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.
>
>Platt, who also served as lead director at Boeing Corp., died Thursday at 64.
>
>"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.
>
>In a statement, HP's current CEO, Mark Hurd, called Platt "a natural
>leader who was enormously well liked."
>
>"The way he treated people and how he ran the company set an
>exceptionally high standard of personal decency," Hurd said.
>
>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."
>
>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.
>
>He joined HP in 1966 and later assumed management positions in HP's
>medical products business.
>
>He was elected president and CEO in 1992. He also later took over as
>chairman in 1993 after the retirement of Dave Packard.
>
>Verley recalled attending a meeting in which Platt discussed his new
>role with HP co-founders Dave Packard and Bill Hewlett.
>
>"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."
>
>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.
>
>Verley said Platt was particularly supportive of policies that made it
>easier for employees to do their work while taking care of their
>families.
>
>Platt had first-hand knowledge of the difficulties of balancing work
>and family. He became a single parent after his first wife died.
>
>"He never forgot what it was like," Verley said.
>
>Under Platt, HP became one of the first companies to adopt formal
>policies in support of telecommuting.
>
>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.
>
>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."
>
>"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."
>
>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.
>
>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.
>
>"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."
>
>Platt presided over the spin-off of HP's test and measurement division
>as Agilent Technologies.
>
>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."
>
>Fiorina was fired by the HP board earlier this year.
>
>Platt served as chief executive of Kendall-Jackson Wine Estates from
>2000 until mid-2001.
>
>He joined Boeing Corp.'s board of directors in 1999, serving as
>non-executive chairman from December 2003 through June of this year.
>
>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.
>
>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."
>
>The cause of Platt's death was not immediately known, a Boeing
>spokesman said. He is survived by his wife, Joan, and four children.
>
>Funeral arrangements are pending.
>
>E-mail Benjamin Pimentel at bpimentel@sfchronicle.com.
>
>Page C - 1
>URL:
>http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/09/10/BUGJ1EL9TI1.DTL
>
>
>--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>(c)2005 San Francisco Chronicle
> _________________________________________________________________
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Philip Gust
Nouveau Systems, Inc. (04)
phone: +1 650 961-7992
fax: +1 520 843-7217 (05)
mailto: gust@NouveauSystems.com (06)
_________________________________________________________________
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