UPDATE John F. Akers of Westport, chief executive of IBM for eight years during the company’s struggle to shift from the mainframe to the personal computer era, died Aug. 22 at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. He was 79.
John F. Akers: led IBM in turbulent times. Contributed photo
A spokesman for IBM said the cause was a stroke, The New York Times said. Akers was a 39-year Westport resident, making his home on Sturges Highway. The family also has a summer home in Nantucket.
He was born in Boston on Dec. 28, 1934, to the late Kenneth F. and Mary J. (Reed) Akers. Kenneth Akers headed the Boston office of the National Fire Insurance Company of Hartford. John Akers graduated from Yale University in 1956, was an All-Ivy League hockey player and received Yale University Athletics’ George H.W. Bush, Lifetime of Achievement Award in 2001.
Following Yale, he joined the U.S. Navy, where he served as a carrier pilot from 1956 to 1960 attaining the rank of lieutenant.
Upon completing his military service, he joined IBM as a sales trainee in San Francisco. He served in many capacities in IBM including group executive and senior vice president before becoming IBM’s sixth chief executive officer in 1985 and chairman of the board in 1986.
But as he took the helm, IBM was struggling. Smaller, more powerful machines using less expensive technology were chipping away at the mainframe computer business that had once been highly lucrative.
In 1993, he was pressured to step down after IBM reported its largest yearly loss. He retired from IBM on May 1, 1993.
Throughout his professional career, he held positions with several regional and national corporations. He served on many boards including W. R. Grace & Co., Hallmark Cards, Inc., The New York Times, and PepsiCo, Inc. He is a former member of the Board of Trustees of the California Institute of Technology, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the United Way.
His tenure on the board of directors of The New York Times Company, from 1985 to 2006, made him one of its longest-serving members, the newspaper said.
As an avid golfer and sports fan, he enjoyed combining his business background with his love of golf by working with caddie scholarship programs including helping establish the Worthy and Fran Johnson Caddie Scholarship Foundation and serving on the board of the Sankaty Head Foundation and Caddie Camp in Nantucket, the last caddie camp in the United States.
Proud of his New England heritage, he was an avid reader of history and strong advocate for education, establishing scholarship funds and serving on local school boards.
He is survived by his wife of 54 years, Susan Davis Akers, his son Scott, his two daughters Pamela Sjodin (husband Kevin) and Annie Klyver (husband Adam), and 10 grandchildren.
Funeral arrangements are private. Memorial contributions can be made to the Wounded Warrior Project, 4899 Belfort Road, Suite 300, Jacksonville, FL 32256.
