It is with great sadness that I write this eulogy for my dear departed friend, Ian Angus. Of all the NCR managers I recruited or promoted at NCR, he was one of my favourites. When I went to Australia to look for an up and coming man to work with me in the Far East, I was so favourably impressed with Ian that I never considered anyone else.
The Australian management tried everything to keep him at home, but he took the gamble and came to work with me in Japan. We had several great years together there, during which the Japanese company experienced tremendous growth and success.
When the job of managing director of NCR Hong Kong came open, Ian was my obvious choice. He did such an outstanding job in Hong Kong that I brought him to our head office in Dayton, Ohio.
After a short spell there, I asked Ian to take on a job that not one in a hundred managers would have dared to accept--that of our manager in Germany. Our German company was not doing well, and I did not believe a German manager could fix the problems. Ian accepted the job, even though he did not speak German, and did such an outstanding job that his German customers did not want to see him go, when Ian decided to return to Australia to take over the company there. Needless to say, he was again successful and built a great business until his retirement.
All this is to show the ability, adaptability, personal and managerial skills of Ian, but he could not have achieved all these moves to different countries without the love and support of his wonderful wife Hanne and his three lovely daughters.
I shall always be thankful for the friendship that Ian and his family have had with my family. In addition to being one of my most trusted managers, he was like the brother I never had. I valued him as one of my best personal friends. I shall always remember him with deep gratitude and affection.
Bill Anderson served as president and chairman of the National Cash Register Corp (NCR) from 1972 to 1984
