[Deathwatch] Lewis "Lew" Platt, former chairman of Boeing, 64

[Deathwatch Central <cdw@slick.org>]

Thanks to a frequent submitter for this one - Ed.

Former Boeing Chairman Lew Platt Dies

By MIKE COLIAS
Sat Sep 10

Lewis "Lew" Platt, a director and former chairman of Boeing Co. who
also served as chief executive at Hewlett-Packard Co. in the 1990s, has
died, Boeing said Friday. He was 64.

Platt died Thursday in California, where he lived, Boeing spokesman
John Dern said. He provided no further details.

Platt became non-executive chairman of the aerospace and defense
company's board after former CEO Phil Condit's departure in December
2003 and served until W. James McNerney was appointed chairman and CEO
in June. Platt remained on the Chicago-based company's board, where he
had served since 1999.

Platt ran Hewlett-Packard from 1992 to 1999, overseeing the split of
the world's second-largest computer company into two separate firms, HP
and Agilent Technologies Inc. He decided to step down as part of HP's
restructuring and was replaced by Carly Fiorina, who was ousted earlier
this year.

Platt was thrust into a visible role at Boeing as the company worked to
overcome ethical lapses. He became chairman when Condit abruptly
resigned amid defense contracting scandals that ultimately sent two
executives to jail.

His efforts to restore order at the company were dealt a setback in
March, when former CEO Harry Stonecipher ? appointed to help repair
Boeing's image ? resigned after admitting an affair with a female
Boeing executive.

"Lew shepherded Boeing with strength, grace, dignity and integrity
through a period when the company most needed his steady hand,"
McNerney said in a statement.

Platt worked at HP for 33 years, starting as an entry level employee in
the company's medical products group in 1966. Shortly after his
appointment as CEO in 1992, he succeeded David Packard as HP's
chairman, serving until he left the company in 1999.

"Lew cared deeply for HP and its people, and his loss is being felt
widely across our company," said Mark Hurd, HP's president and CEO, in
a statement Friday. "He was a natural leader who was enormously well
liked and made an enduring impression on those he encountered."

Platt was known as a chief executive who carefully preserved the "HP
Way," an entrenched management philosophy of treating employees like
family and staking success on the innovation of its engineers.

But critics partly blamed him for HP's slow response to the rise of the
Internet, which led to sluggish sales growth at a time when the
Internet Economy was in full swing.

In a 1999 interview with BusinessWeek, Platt acknowledged HP "seemed to
have missed the turn to the Internet Economy." But he felt he had
righted the company's course before his departure.

"We've had a couple of tough years. But there's a lot of positive
momentum now," he said. "When people look at the Lew Platt era ... it's
going to look pretty good."

After leaving HP, Platt served as CEO of Kendall Jackson Wine Estates
Ltd. until 2001.

Many thanks to Deathwatch Central for posting this obituary