Mr. John W. Haanstra

He was Chairman of the influential SPREAD Task Group (Systems Programming, Research, Engineering and Development) and President of the IBM General Products Division just prior to launch of the System/360. Later, Vin Learson put him and three other trusted senior Engineering managers in charge of ensuring smooth operations of the System/360 at various lab and plant locations. He was dispatched to manage operations in Boulder, Colorado, and later San Jose, California. Together he and his three co-Operations managers became known as the ?Four Horsemen? of the System/360. Born in San Francisco, CA, he earned his degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of California. He joined IBM in 1950 as an engineer, working for a short time in the Poughkeepsie laboratory. He then spent two years in the Navy, but returned to IBM in 1952. He was one of the early members of the San Jose Research Laboratory. He was involved in a number of projects, including the IBM 305 RAMAC (Random Access Method of Accounting and Control), which was the first commercial computer system with random-access disk storage. He was promoted to Assistant General Manager of IBM?s General Products Division which developed the products that accounted for most of IBM?s profit at that time, the main focus of which was the highly successful IBM 1401 computer. He moved up the ranks through several positions, ultimately becoming President of the General Products Division in 1961, being one of the first technically oriented people to rise to the executive level. In 1965, during the company?s reorganization, he was appointed as the Systems Development Division?s first President and was responsible for all computer research and development world-wide within IBM. His dynamic leadership, celebrating independence, action and winners left an indelible mark on a broad segment of IBM?s development community. In August of 1967, he left IBM and joined General Electric as Special Assistant to the head of G.E.?s Information Systems Division, J. Stanford Smith. He was there until his death in 1969.