Frank T. Cary

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Frank T. Cary (b. 14 December 1920, Gooding, Idaho - d. 1 January 2006, Darien, Connecticut) was a U.S. Executive and Businessman. Cary served as the Chairman between 1973 to 1983 and CEO between 1973 to 1981 of IBM.

While he was not well known outside of IBM during his tenure as Chief Executive he presided over a period of rapid growth in product, revenue and profit. His most notable accomplishment was recognizing that the Personal Computer was going to be an emerging product category that could ultimately be a threat to IBM. Consequently he forced the creation of a special, small dedicated group to spearhead an answer to Apple within IBM but totally protected from the internal bureacracy of a large corporation. Even though the PC, after a significant early success, did not maintain its promise it did leave a legacy both outside and inside the company that endures to this day.

Frank T. Cary died, aged 85, on New Year's Day 2006; he was survived by three sons, a daughter and twelve (12) grandchildren.