IBM Corp traditionally sends departing executives off with glowing resumees of their illustrious careers, so it was striking that the announcement late Friday that former chairman and chief executive officer John Akers had just retired from the company after 33 years was accompanied by the briefest and curtest summaries of his career – after all, the man had significant achievements behind him when he acceded to the top job, and it is arguable that many of the problems that plagued the company during Akers’ tenure were the fault of his predecessors, although it must be said that he was also in the loop at the time. Walton Burdick is also retiring as senior vice-president, personnel.
