John Patterson headed NCR Corporation began operations as the National Manufacturing Company, which manufactured and sold the first mechanical cash register. The company and patents were bought by John Henry Patterson and his brother Frank Jefferson Patterson in 1884 and the firm was renamed the National Cash Register Company

In 1912, the company was found guilty of violating the Sherman Antitrust Act. Patterson and other executives were convicted for illegal sales practices and were sentenced to one year of imprisonment. Patterson was known to fire many employees.

10. John Akers

John F. Akers became chief executive officer of IBM in February 1985. In June 1986, he assumed the additional position of chairman of the board. He retired from both positions on April 1, 1993 after 33 years of service.

While the rest of the world was moving toward personal computing, Akers remained stuck in the mainframe age, never quite figuring out what to do with IBM at a critical point in the tech industry's evolution. Many outsiders viewed Akers as being in over his head. IBM was paralysed by his lack of decisiveness," the magazine said.