IBM Cary joined IBM in 1948 as a salesman in Los Angeles. Advancing through the management ranks, he became general manager of data processing and vice president after two years, then became a senior vice president in 1967. The following year, he was appointed as a member of the board of directors then joined the Corporate Office and the Management Review Committee. In January 1973, Cary was named Chairman and CEO. He was chief executive at IBM during a period of rapid growth in product, revenue, and profit. He started the creation of a small group within IBM dedicated to spearhead an answer to
Apple Inc. He stepped down from his position in 1981 but remained a director until 1991. He was a member of the Steering Committee of the
Bilderberg Group. He joined the MIT Corporation in 1974 and became a life member in 1984. He served on several committees, including the committee of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. He served on the board of directors of
JP Morgan,
ABC,
Texaco, and others. He also served on boards of many nonprofit organizations, including the
American Museum of Natural History and
Rockefeller University. ==Personal life and death==