John Diebold

John Theurer Diebold (June 8, 1926 – December 26, 2005) was an American businessman who was a pioneer in the field of automation, founding The Diebold Group to advise corporations around the world as well as governments in the U.S and abroad in the potential of information technology.

Early life Diebold was born on June 8, 1926, in Weehawken, New Jersey. After graduating from Weehawken High School, he enrolled at Swarthmore College, then during the war attended the United States Merchant Marine Academy and served in the merchant marine, returning to Swarthmore in 1946 to earn a B.S. in Engineering. He then completed an MBA at the Harvard Business School in 1951.

Diebold's first book, Automation: The Advent of the Automatic Factory, based on his studies at the Harvard Business School, was published by Van Nostrand in 1952. Owing to independent research and ever-persistent curiosity about the whole field of technology, he originated many of the concepts of data processing and utilization that are accepted today in both automation and management. This book was reissued unchanged on its 30th anniversary as a “management classic” by the American Management Association. He is credited with coining the word automation in its present meaning, and had much to do with introducing it to general usage. an operating foundation to apply advanced computer and communications technology to the improvement of the quality of life for a broad segment of the public. In 2005, the year of his death, the Institute led an international cooperative effort to assess the value of information technology in public infrastructures: health care; road transportation; education; communications and public safety.

Business career John Diebold & Associates soon grew into The Diebold Group, which played a role in the development of the information technology industry. John Diebold and his company were responsible for the creation of new products and services as well as in the definition of the IT role in the management of businesses and governments. His original wish to play a role in and to contribute to the development of a few of the formative issues that changes the world was fulfilled.

From the firm's founding in 1954, Diebold positioned himself as both a leadership theorist and an early advocate for the transformative potential of computing. He argued that computers represented more than the mechanization of existing systems, contending that they would enable fundamentally new capabilities and opportunities.

Only a few years after the Diebold Group's founding, books were being written about John Diebold, his ideas and his firm.

Central to all of this was the insight that for computers to achieve their potential they had to be viewed as management and strategy tools. The firm's leadership was evident not only in technical innovations but also in the highest level of strategic planning.

From its founding to its sale in 1991, the firm and John Diebold had a continuing role in the creation and dissemination of new ideas, insights and the introduction of new paradigms. An example was the concepts that talent is capital and its consequences were a key to success in the new world that took shape.

From the beginning Diebold contributed to new expectations for the delivery of public services and to what citizens could expect from governments.

The firm provided counsel to over 100 cities, most U.S. states, several foreign governments and major corporations, in the U.S. and abroad.

John Diebold was active in public as well as private pursuits. He was a trustee of the Carnegie Institution of Washington, the Committee for Economic Development, the National Planning Association, a Fellow of the International Academy of Management, a Member, Executive Committee, the Public Agenda Foundation; Chairman, U.S.East Asian History of Science and Vice Chairman of the Academy for Educational Development.

He also served as Vice Chairman to John J. McCloy at the American Council on Germany. He had six honorary degrees, the Legion of Honor from France and was decorated by the governments of Italy, Germany and Jordan. He also received numerous professional awards.

Books Automation: The advent of the Automatic Factory, Van Nostrand, 1952 Making the future work: Unleashing our powers of innovation for the decades ahead, Simon and Schuster, 1984 Managing Information: The Challenge and the Opportunity, 1985

The Papers and Speeches of John Diebold, 1957-1998 Volume 1. Beyond Automation: Managerial Problems of an Exploding Technology. Foreword: Peter F. Drucker. McGraw Hill, 1964; Republished by PraegerPublishers, 1970 Volume 2. Man and the Computer: Technology as an Agent of Social Change, Frederick A. Praeger, 1969 Volume 3. Business Decisions and Technological Change, Praeger Publisher, 1970 Volume 4. The Role of Business in Society. Foreword by James L. Hayes, Chairman, American Management Associations. American Management Associations, 1982 Volume 5. Managing Information: The Challenge and the Opportunity, Foreword by Thornton F. Bradshaw, Chairman, RCA Corporation. American Management Associations, 1985 Volume 6. Business in the Age of Information. Foreword by Russell Palmer, Dean, The Wharton School. American Management Associations, 1985 Volume 7. Technology and Public Policy. Meeting Society's 21st Century Needs. Management Science Publishing Co., 1997 Volume 8. Maintaining Profitability in an Increasingly Complex Environment. Management Science Publishing Co., 1998 Volume 9. Information Technology in the 21st Century, Management Science Publishing Co., 1998

Editor, World of the Computer, for Random House in 1973