From ThinkPads to TUPE: My First Tech Acquisition at IBM (INTRO)

In the summer of 2004, during my university placement at IBM’s Basingstoke offices, I witnessed a major shift unfold. Lenovo had announced its acquisition of IBM’s PC division, including the iconic ThinkPad brand. For students like me on temporary contracts, the deal was academic, but for the wider team it sparked questions: would jobs move, would the culture change, and would IBM’s name vanish from the products they had built their careers around?

What stood out was Lenovo’s restraint. Rather than forcing rapid change, they kept things steady, understanding that what they had bought was as much talent as technology. Logos were updated, but people stayed. Watching two very different cultures, a century-old American giant and a rising Chinese manufacturer find common ground taught me something valuable. Integration isn’t always about speed. Sometimes, the smartest move is to slow down. [Click to read the full story on Substack]