Roy Nutt: The Expert Technologist

Early in his career in the 1950s, Roy Nutt established himself as an expert systems programmer. He developed the first widely accepted assembly program and was on the small IBM team that developed Fortran, a language still used by scientific and engineering applications. He was a leading member of the data processing team at United Aircraft Corporation when he quit to start CSC in 1959. Here, he played a crucial role in early contracts. He developed the business-language compiler called FACT for CSC's first client, Honeywell.

After successfully designing the entire software suite for the Univac 1107, CSC gained widespread recognition in the industry. CSC's reputation for technical excellence under Nutt's leadership helped it attract the brightest engineers and scientists in the country. One such person was Bill Hoover, who had been chief of computer operations at NASA's JPL before joining CSC in 1964. He would become CSC's chairman and chief executive officer in 1972.

"I came here because it was the best technical place in the country to work," he recalls. "Getting the absolute best technical people in CSC and being absolutely the best at what we do ― that has been the passion of this company since Fletcher and Roy founded it."

Throughout the 1960s and 70s, the company expanded its markets beyond computer manufacturers to users, increasing its focus on the U.S. federal government, the largest user of computers. Nutt served as chairman of the executive committee of the board of directors and was vice president until 1988. He passed away in 1990.