Remembering Sam
Albert,who, believe it or not, coined the terms "business partner" and "coopetition," among others,spent 30 years at IBM where he created the business partner program and pioneered the concept of consultant relations. That was Sam. Always trying to bring people together.
When Sam left IBM, he reinvented himself and started a second career as a consultant and broadcaster. Those in the New York metropolitan area knew Sam as the creator, producer and voice of "CompuTips" on radio station 1010 WINS.
Sam was bigger than life, a character out of a John Ford film, a whirlwind of energy, enthusiasm and optimism. For me and many of the journalists who cover this business, he was a bigger personality than Bill Gates, Sam Palmisano or any other technology leader.
Sam Albert and I met 15 years ago at Comdex when he saw me chasing people to comment on "the next big thing." Thereafter, he referred to me as "the waterboy." Like his friends, I have many funny memories of Sam. Once, Sam was at a dot-com convergence gathering, and movie star Michael Douglas got up to cross the room and shake hands with him. Douglas told Sam that he looked like Burt Lancaster, a friend of his dad, Kirk. Sam loved that.
Our thoughts are with Sam's family, his wife, Joyce, his children and grandchildren. Many of us didn't get to meet them personally, but we got to hear Sam's many stories about how proud he was of them and how thrilled he was to have such a strong partner in his wife.
John Mihalec, vice president of analyst relations at IBM, recalled Sam's indomitable spirit last week in a note to consultants. He wrote, "Some of you may remember the quote Sam included at the bottom of all his e-mail: 'It's never too late to become the person you might have been.' Now it's up to us to follow his example."
The industry has lost a big part of its heart. For many of us, this business will never be as much fun as it once was. Not without Sam.
In lieu of flowers, the family is asking that donations be given to The Sam Albert Fund. Checks should be made out to Mt. Sinai Hospital Department of Otolaryngology, Box 1189, Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, One Gustave L. Levy Place, New York, NY, 10029-6574. In the memo area of the check, please reference The Sam Albert Fund.