Fletcher Jones: The Spirited Visionary

Fletcher Jones began his career as a mathematical analyst, and was director of a divisional data center for North American Aviation Corporation when he left in 1959 to found CSC with Roy Nutt. The two had met at the IBM user group SHARE, and realized the potential of their complementary skills.

"I'd known Fletcher for years," recalled Nutt in a 1972 CSC newsletter. "We were both charter members of SHARE and had worked together in other connections. When he called me one Friday evening to propose going into business together, I knew instantly that he was the right person to do it with."

Jones' business flair won CSC's first contract with Honeywell, which established CSC in the industry. Jones aggressively pursued new business for the young CSC, and by 1963, CSC was the largest software company in the United States. Six years after starting CSC, Jones was featured in a Time magazine cover story as representative of the new breed of millionaires.

The secret of success, Jones told Time, was to "get people behind you so that you can be multiplied." Throughout the 1960s, Jones guided CSC's expansion into new markets, countries and services, overseeing strategic acquisitions to augment and enhance CSC's operations. Jones served as president, chairman and CEO until 1969. He died in a private plane crash in 1972.