Pat toole ibm biography of michael jordan

Pat has been with IBM since in various senior executive positions. Sramana Mitra: Hi Pat, thanks for taking the time to speak with us. I want to start by asking you about cloud computing adoption at IBM. Have you gone beyond pilots and evaluations? And what workloads are moving to the cloud? We have six towers of cloud offerings at this point.

His son joined IBM 30 years ago and worked his way through engineering, manufacturing, sales and other jobs to become chief information officer and, in July , general manager of System z — today's mainframe. The elder Toole recalls the technology excitement of the mids. Then, as now, the basic chips came from the Wiccopee plant and went into the big computers put together at Poughkeepsie.

Toole has held a variety of executive and management position in technology, manufacturing, engineering, information systems, marketing, and sales, including his role as senior site executive of IBM Charlotte in North Carolina. Below is a presentation Mr. Your email address will not be published. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

During his three seasons with the Tar Heels, he averaged Jordan returned to North Carolina to complete his degree in , when he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in geography. One of the primary reasons why Jordan was not drafted sooner was because the first two teams were in need of a center. Trail Blazers general manager Stu Inman contended that it was not a matter of drafting a center but more a matter of taking Bowie over Jordan, in part because Portland already had Clyde Drexler, who was a guard with similar skills to Jordan.

During his rookie —85 season with the Bulls, Jordan averaged He quickly became a fan favorite even in opposing arenas. Roy S. The fans also voted in Jordan as an All-Star starter during his rookie season. Controversy arose before the NBA All-Star Game when word surfaced that several veteran players, led by Isiah Thomas, were upset by the amount of attention Jordan was receiving.

This led to a so-called "freeze-out" on Jordan, where players refused to pass the ball to him throughout the game. The controversy left Jordan relatively unaffected when he returned to regular season play, and he would go on to be voted the NBA Rookie of the Year. The Bulls finished the season 38—44, and lost to the Milwaukee Bucks in four games in the first round of the playoffs.

An often-cited moment was on August 26, , when Jordan shook the arena during a Nike exhibition game in Trieste, Italy, by shattering the glass of the backboard with a dunk. The moment was filmed and is often referred to worldwide as an important milestone in Jordan's rise. Jordan's —86 season was cut short when he broke his foot in the third game of the year, causing him to miss 64 games.

The Bulls made the playoffs despite Jordan's injury and a 30—52 record, at the time the fifth-worst record of any team to qualify for the playoffs in NBA history. Jordan recovered in time to participate in the postseason and performed well upon his return. Against a Boston Celtics team that is often considered one of the greatest in NBA history, Jordan set the still-unbroken record for points in a playoff game with 63 in Game 2, but the Celtics managed to sweep the series.

Jordan completely recovered in time for the —87 season, and had one of the most prolific scoring seasons in NBA history; he became the only player other than Wilt Chamberlain to score 3, points in a season, averaging a league-high In addition, Jordan demonstrated his defensive prowess, as he became the first player in NBA history to record steals and blocked shots in a season.

The Bulls reached 40 wins, and advanced to the playoffs for the third consecutive year but were again swept by the Celtics. Pistons roadblock — Jordan again led the league in scoring during the —88 season, averaging The Bulls finished 50—32, and made it out of the first round of the playoffs for the first time in Jordan's career, as they defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers in five games.

In the Eastern Conference Semifinals, the Bulls lost in five games to the more experienced Detroit Pistons, who were led by Isiah Thomas and a group of physical players known as the "Bad Boys". In the —89 season, Jordan again led the league in scoring, averaging During the season, Sam Vincent, Chicago's point guard, was having trouble running the offense, and Jordan expressed his frustration with head coach Doug Collins, who would put Jordan at point guard.

In his time as a point guard, Jordan averaged 10 triple-doubles in eleven games, with The Cavaliers series included a career highlight for Jordan when he hit "The Shot" over Craig Ehlo at the buzzer in the fifth and final game of the series. In the Eastern Conference Finals, the Pistons again defeated the Bulls, this time in six games, by utilizing their "Jordan Rules" method of guarding Jordan, which consisted of double and triple teaming him every time he touched the ball.

The Bulls entered the —90 season as a team on the rise, with their core group of Jordan and young improving players like Scottie Pippen and Horace Grant, and under the guidance of new coach Phil Jackson. On March 28, , Jordan scored a career-high 69 points in a — road win over the Cavaliers. He averaged a league-leading They again advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals after beating the Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers; despite pushing the series to seven games, the Bulls lost to the Pistons for the third consecutive season.

First three-peat — In the —91 season, Jordan won his second MVP award after averaging The Bulls finished in first place in their division for the first time in sixteen years and set a franchise record with 61 wins in the regular season. The Bulls defeated the New York Knicks and the Philadelphia 76ers in the opening two rounds of the playoffs.

They advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals where their rival, the Detroit Pistons, awaited them; this time, the Bulls beat the Pistons in a four-game sweep. The Bulls advanced to the Finals for the first time in franchise history to face the Los Angeles Lakers, who had Magic Johnson and James Worthy, two formidable opponents. The Bulls won the series four games to one, and compiled a 15—2 playoff record along the way.

Perhaps the best-known moment of the series came in Game 2 when, attempting a dunk, Jordan avoided a potential Sam Perkins block by switching the ball from his right hand to his left in mid-air to lay the shot into the basket. In his first Finals appearance, Jordan had Jordan and the Bulls continued their dominance in the —92 season, establishing a 67—15 record, topping their franchise record from — Jordan won his second consecutive MVP award with averages of After winning a physical seven-game series over the New York Knicks in the second round of the playoffs and finishing off the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Conference Finals in six games, the Bulls met Clyde Drexler and the Portland Trail Blazers in the Finals.

The media, hoping to recreate a Magic—Bird rivalry, highlighted the similarities between "Air" Jordan and Clyde "The Glide" during the pre-Finals hype. In the first game, Jordan scored a Finals-record 35 points in the first half, including a record-setting six three-point field goals. After the sixth three-pointer, he jogged down the court shrugging as he looked courtside.

Marv Albert, who broadcast the game, later stated that it was as if Jordan was saying: "I can't believe I'm doing this. Jordan was named Finals MVP for the second year in a row, and finished the series averaging In the —93 season, despite a He averaged a Finals-record He scored more than 30 points in every game of the series, including 40 or more points in four consecutive games.

With his third Finals triumph, Jordan capped off a seven-year run where he attained seven scoring titles and three championships, but there were signs that Jordan was tiring of his massive celebrity and all of the non-basketball hassles in his life. David Stern, the commissioner of the NBA, denied in and that Jordan's retirement was a secret suspension by the league for gambling, but the rumor spread widely.

In , Jordan discussed his gambling with Ed Bradley of 60 Minutes and admitted that he made reckless decisions. Jordan stated: "Yeah, I've gotten myself into situations where I would not walk away and I've pushed the envelope. Is that compulsive? Yeah, it depends on how you look at it. If you're willing to jeopardize your livelihood and your family, then yeah.

First retirement and stint in Minor League Baseball — On October 6, , Jordan announced his retirement, saying that he lost his desire to play basketball. Jordan later said that the murder of his father three months earlier helped shape his decision. James R. His body, dumped in a South Carolina swamp, was not discovered until August 3.

Green and Demery were found after they made calls on James Jordan's cell phone, convicted at a trial, and sentenced to life in prison. Jordan was close to his father; as a child, he imitated the way his father stuck out his tongue while absorbed in work. He later adopted it as his own signature, often displaying it as he drove to the basket.

In his autobiography For the Love of the Game, Jordan wrote that he was preparing for retirement as early as the summer of The added exhaustion due to the "Dream Team" run in the Summer Olympics solidified Jordan's feelings about the game and his ever-growing celebrity status. Jordan's announcement sent shock waves throughout the NBA and appeared on the front pages of newspapers around the world.

He reported to spring training in Sarasota, Florida, and was assigned to the team's minor league system on March 31, Jordan said that this decision was made to pursue the dream of his late father, who always envisioned his son as a Major League Baseball player. The White Sox were owned by Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf, who continued to honor Jordan's basketball contract during the years he played baseball.

His strikeout total led the team and his games played tied for the team lead. His 30 stolen bases were second on the team only to Doug Brady. On November 1, , his No. The —95 Bulls were a shell of the championship team of just two years earlier. Struggling at mid-season to ensure a spot in the playoffs, Chicago was 31—31 at one point in mid-March; the team received help when Jordan decided to return to the Bulls.

In March , Jordan decided to quit baseball because he feared he might become a replacement player during the Major League Baseball strike. The game had the highest Nielsen rating of any regular season NBA game since Although he could have worn his original number even though the Bulls retired it, Jordan wore No. Despite his eighteen-month hiatus from the NBA, Jordan played well, making a game-winning jump shot against Atlanta in his fourth game back.

Boosted by Jordan's comeback, the Bulls went 13—4 to make the playoffs and advanced to the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Orlando Magic.

Pat toole ibm biography of michael jordan

At the end of Game 1, Orlando's Nick Anderson stripped Jordan from behind, leading to the game-winning basket for the Magic; he later commented that Jordan "didn't look like the old Michael Jordan", and said that "No. Jordan responded by scoring 38 points in the next game, which Chicago won. Before the game, Jordan decided that he would immediately resume wearing his former No.