Ken Olsen - Later Career History

Later Career History

In 1987 he gave the first of his infamous "snake oil speeches", taken by some to be referring indirectly to the "Unix Conspiracy". While Olsen believed VMS was a better solution for DEC customers and often talked of the strengths of the system, he did approve and encourage an internal effort to produce a native BSD-based UNIX product on the VAX line of computers called Ultrix. However, this line never got enthusiastic comprehensive support at DEC.

Olsen retired from DEC in 1992. He subsequently became the chairman of Advanced Modular Solutions. Olsen was also a major contributor to The Family, a religious and political organization.

Olsen was a trustee of Gordon College in Wenham, Massachusetts. There, the Ken Olsen Science Center was named after him in 2006, and dedicated on 27 September 2008. Its lobby features a Digital Loggia of Technology, documenting Digital's technology and history, and an interactive kiosk to which former employees have submitted their stories.