Monday, November 5, 2012

Over 60 Years Ago Today

My father was at the cutting edge of IT
by Jody P.

Sixty-five years ago, my dad started at GE Aerospace, a heritage company of Lockheed Martin. At 17-years-old, he was full of passion and curiosity and was quite driven. I closely watched as my dad, Thomas Pregent, changed IT history through his leadership, vision and fortitude. In fact, he was key to bringing together the future of information processing technology.

By 1959, he was already part of the development of information handling systems, computing services and business information processing centers. All evolved through new technology and consolidation of services that are still part of Lockheed Martin today. He was at the heart of change and was in front of what was considered the “leading edge” in technology. In the early 1950s, this included punch cards, magnetic tapes, mainframes and servers.

Twenty-five years ago, he led the GE Aerospace information technology initiative to integrate processes and services to combine key data centers by December 1989. He not only influenced and brought about change through the evolution of information technology, but he also was very influential in my life and in my career at GE Aerospace, then Lockheed Martin.

I proudly reflect on his impact to the company over his 42-year career. He was awarded for his many significant achievements, which influenced technology innovation and change. 


Thank you, Dad, for accelerating tomorrow!