Compaq Computer Corporation was an American information technology company founded in 1982 that developed, sold, and supported computers and related products and services. Compaq produced some of the first IBM PC compatible computers, being the second company after Columbia Data Products to legally reverse engineer the BIOS of the IBM Personal Computer. It rose to become the largest supplier of PC systems during the 1990s before being overtaken by Dell in 2001. Struggling to keep up in the price wars against Dell, as well as with a risky acquisition of DEC, Compaq was acquired for US$25 billion by HP in 2002. The Compaq brand remained in use by HP for lower-end systems until 2013 when it was discontinued. Since 2013, the brand is currently licensed to third parties for use on electronics in Brazil and India.
System x is a line of x86 servers produced by IBM, and later by Lenovo, as a sub-brand of IBM's System brand, alongside IBM Power Systems, IBM System z and IBM System Storage. In addition, IBM System x was the main component of the IBM System Cluster 1350 solution.
ThinkPad is a line of business-oriented laptop computers and tablets, the early models of which were designed, developed and marketed by IBM, starting in 1992. In 2005 IBM sold its PC business, including laptops to Lenovo. The Chinese manufacturer further developed the line, and is still selling new models in 2023.
Iomega produced external, portable, and networked data storage products. Established in the 1980s in Roy, Utah, United States, Iomega sold more than 410 million digital storage drives and disks, including the Zip drive floppy disk system. Formerly a public company, it was acquired by EMC Corporation in 2008, and then by Lenovo, which rebranded the product line as LenovoEMC, until discontinuation in 2018.
Louis Vincent Gerstner Jr. is an American businessman, best known for his tenure as chairman of the board and chief executive officer of IBM from April 1993 until 2002, when he retired as CEO in March and chairman in December. He is largely credited with turning IBM's fortunes around.
Samuel J. "Sam" Palmisano is a former president and the eighth chief executive officer of IBM until January 2012. He also served as Chairman of the company until October 1, 2012.
Lenovo Group Limited, often shortened to Lenovo, is an American-Chinese multinational technology company specializing in designing, manufacturing, and marketing consumer electronics, personal computers, software, business solutions, and related services. Products manufactured by the company include desktop computers, laptops, tablet computers, smartphones, workstations, servers, supercomputers, data storage devices, IT management software, and smart televisions. Its best-known brands include its ThinkPad business line of laptop computers, the IdeaPad, Yoga, and Legion consumer lines of laptop computers, and the IdeaCentre and ThinkCentre lines of desktop computers. As of 2021, Lenovo is the world's largest personal computer vendor by unit sales.
Paul Stevens Otellini was an American businessman and one-time president and CEO of Intel. He was also on the board of directors of Google.
The ThinkCentre is a line of business-oriented desktop computers designed, developed and marketed by Lenovo, and formerly by IBM from 2003 to 2005. ThinkCentre computers typically include mid-range to high-end processors, options for discrete graphics cards, and multi-monitor support.
William J. "Bill" Amelio is an American business executive who was the CEO of Lenovo. He was also the CEO of Avnet.
William E. "Kip" Ward is a retired United States Army three-star general who served as the inaugural Commander of United States Africa Command from October 1, 2007 to March 8, 2011. During his long career in public service, he has taught international affairs and relations at West Point, US Military Academy; served as Commander of Stabilization Force, Operation Joint Forge, Sarajevo, Bosnia; was appointed the Secretary of State's Security Coordinator to the Israel - Palestinian Authority; Deputy Commander, Headquarters US European Command, Stuttgart, Germany; and many other progressively responsible assignments. He later retired and served as President and chief operating officer of the logistics, IT, and engineering business, Vectrus.
Liu Chuanzhi is a Chinese entrepreneur. Liu is the founder of Lenovo, the world's largest personal computer vendor by unit sales. He remains one of the leaders of the company.
Yang Yuanqing is a Chinese business executive and philanthropist who is the current chairman and CEO of Lenovo.
The ThinkPad T series is a line of laptop computers. Originally developed by IBM, and introduced in 2000, the brand was sold along with the rest of IBM's consumer computer division to Chinese technology company Lenovo in 2005, who have continued to produce and market succeeding models.
Rory P. Read is an American business executive. He is the CEO of Vonage, a position he assumed on July 1, 2020. He previously served as EVP chief operating executive at Dell as well as president and CEO of Virtustream. He was formerly the chief integration officer at Dell, with responsibility for planning the integration of Dell and EMC. From August 2011 to October 2014 he served as president and chief executive officer of AMD. He has also worked for IBM and Lenovo.
The A Series desktops are part of Lenovo’s ThinkCentre product line. Formerly an IBM brand, Lenovo acquired the ThinkCentre desktop brand following its purchase of IBM’s Personal Computing Division (PCD) in 2005. The first desktop in the A Series was the ThinkCentre A50p. Lenovo has released A Series desktops in multiple form factors, ranging from traditional tower, to small form factor, and all-in-ones (AIOs).
The International Business Machines Corporation (IBM), nicknamed Big Blue, is an American multinational technology corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York and present in over 175 countries. It specializes in computer hardware, middleware, and software, and provides hosting and consulting services in areas ranging from mainframe computers to nanotechnology. IBM is the largest industrial research organization in the world, with 19 research facilities across a dozen countries, and has held the record for most annual U.S. patents generated by a business for 29 consecutive years from 1993 to 2021.
The chief accessibility officer (CAO) is a C-suite executive position within an organization. The role exists in organizations to improve accessibility for people with physical or mental disabilities.
Mary Ma or Ma Xuezheng was a Chinese businesswoman and investor. She served as chief financial officer of the computer maker Lenovo, and played a key role in the company's acquisition of IBM's personal computer division in 2005. She was named by Forbes as the world's 57th most powerful woman in that year. After retiring from Lenovo in 2007, she worked in private equity and co-founded Boyu Capital, which invested in companies including Alibaba Group and Megvii.
The acquisition of IBM Personal Systems Group, the PC business arm of International Business Machines (IBM) Corporation, by Lenovo started in 2004 and was finished in May 2005.
