Mike Wirth
I first met Ashok during the time I was being hired into the IBM Almaden Research Center in a somewhat non-standard process, part of what he described as the “Taking a bite out of Apple” project. It was April ’97 when Steve Jobs was back in charge at that company and laid off the entire ATG (Advanced Technology Group), plus a bunch of others. ARC was swooping in to pick up some talent. A few years later, when we were having an informal going-away party for Ashok, people were sharing anecdotes about his time as Director of the Computer Science Lab. Wondered what I could add that would be the least bit significant amidst the many accolades. So I told a joke: “What’s the difference between the Boy Scouts and Apple?” Answer: “The Boy Scouts have adult leadership.” And I continued that Ashok was very much like the Boy Scout leadership , which I much appreciated after my time at Apple. He seemed to be taken aback and asked me later about the comment. Bottom line: Not only a great computer scientist and effective leader, but a humble and caring fellow, too rare in our tech-focused world. Mike Wirth