Just a short note of thanks for all the support you have shown me personally over the years and for going out on a limb for me more times than I can remember -- with so little to go on! There are not many who would have done it and I deeply appreciate the trust you put in me and the team here in Cambridge, particularly in the face of the extraordinary anti-body reactions we some times encountered. Certainly I would not still be part of IBM today without the things you did and said for us.

It greatly saddens me that we are losing someone who was always prepared to ride out against odds to fight the safe "no" culture that too often prevails in big organisations, but you certainly deserve a change! I sincerely believe that if the next phase of your career is even a fraction of what you have achieved here at IBM, it will be an outstanding success.

Good luck and my best wishes,