[mgse]

If you mean the idealistic notion that an engineer can come in and eventually run the company, sure, if they get on the management path quickly.

Spent just under a decade with IBM working on servers and even the best people I saw (technically and politically) were taking 8+ years as engineers to make it to a senior level (band 9 for any IBMers). And at that point, you're likely just a glorified project manager. If you put together a couple decades of awesomeness, maybe you make Distinguished Engineer or even IBM Fellow. They don't end up as VPs or CEOs.

As a disclaimer, I now work at HP. With respect to the culture in the trenches, I see IBM and HP as almost identical. Some great people to work with, interesting projects, and way too much bureaucracy :)

[hkmurakami]

With respect to personnel, would you venture to say that perhaps nothing other than the Board is different between these two companies?