[3381] in comp.os.os2.announce archive
UG: PSP Exec Mike Lawrie at Phoenix OS/2 Society, Sept 9
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Esther Schindler)
Wed Sep 10 23:50:06 1997
To: os2ann.DISCUSS@bloom-picayune.MIT.EDU
Date: 05 Sep 1997 01:10:00 -0400
From: esther@bitranch.com (Esther Schindler)
Reply-To: esther@bitranch.com (Esther Schindler)
Reply-to: esther@bitranch.com (Esther Schindler)
[Followups directed to comp.os.os2.misc]
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Mike Lawrie to speak
We OS/2 users have plenty of questions. We want to know what IBM is doing to
enhance the technology. We're intensely interested in IBM's marketing strategy
for the operating system. And we're especially interested in the plans the
company has to serve our needs.
On Tuesday, September 9, we'll have the opportunity to get straight answers
from the guy in charge.
The guest for the Phoenix OS/2 Society's general meeting will be J. Michael
("Mike") Lawrie, the General Manager of the IBM Personal Software Products
Division (IBM PSP). That's the big kahuna, the top dog, the big cheese. Lawrie
is responsible for management of the PSP division and for the marketing and
development of the OS/2 Warp family of operating system products. That
includes OS/2 Warp, OS/2 Warp Server, and Directory and Security Server for
OS/2. He was named to this position in January 1997.
Straight talk, real issues
This isn't going to be a media circus event. No fancy hotel, no unusual
arrangements. (Well, we will have a cake to celebrate the tenth birthday of
OS/2... but we would have done that anyway.) This is simply Mike, talking with
individual OS/2 users.
Because Mike Lawrie wanted to address the issues we care about most, I asked
Society members to submit suggestions ahead of time. In early August, I sent
the "top ten" list to Lawrie's staff; he's promised to focus on these topics.
In case you're wondering what topics are on the "What matters most" list for
our members, here's the top three items:
* IBM: Get serious about OS/2.
* What's up with Windows support?
* Where does IBM stand with OS/2 in the small-office/home-office (SOHO)
markets, and with small and medium businesses?
Other topics prominently mentioned were: support developers; single input
queue; support for SMP; device drivers; OS/2 pre-installed on IBM computers;
multimedia support; and speech recognition.
Perhaps most importantly, Lawrie has a reputation for speaking directly and
honestly. If you think that this meeting will be full of "typical company
hype"... think again.
About Lawrie
Before Mike Lawrie took over as general manager of IBM PSP, he served as
general manager, industries, IBM Asia Pacific Service Corporation (APSC),
where he was responsible for IBM's largest customers in Asia Pacific.
He also served as vice president, software, for IBM APSC and was responsible
for the development of a sales, marketing, and channel development
organization for IBM PSP, Software Solution Products, and Network Software
products in the Asia Pacific region.
Previously, Mr. Lawrie was vice president and general manager, Great Lakes
Area, IBM North America, with P&L responsibility for IBM's sales, marketing,
services, administration and technical support organization in the Great Lakes
Area.
Prior to that assignment, he was assistant general manager for IBM's United
States field organization. In that role he was responsible for developing
IBM's approach to planning, organization, compensation and the strategy
implementation for IBM's field force in the U.S.
Since joining IBM in 1977, Mr. Lawrie has held multiple marketing and
financial management positions in both line and staff organizations.
He holds a B.A. degree in history and political science from Ohio University.
He also holds an MBA degree in marketing and finance from Drexel University.
Mr. Lawrie is a graduate of the Dartmouth Institute and holds a financial
planner certification from the Wharton School.
When and where
The Phoenix OS/2 Society meets at the Mountain Preserve Reception Center, at
1431 East Dunlap. There's a general Q&A with other users beginning at 6:30,
with the general meeting getting underway at 7. Visitors are enthusiastically
welcome (though we're pretty sure that, by the end of the evening, you'll be
so happy that you'll plunk down the dues money.)
The birthday cake (which will be chocolate if *I* have anything to say about
it) will arrive by 6:30.
The Phoenix OS/2 Society is the world's largest computer user group devoted to
OS/2. Membership ($30/year in the U.S.) includes the award winning print
magazine, _extended attributes_, product discounts, and (perhaps most
important) a voice in the OS/2 community. For more information about the
Society, visit http://www.possi.org.
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