Platt, 64, was also a leader at Boeing Lew Platt, who spent 33 years at Hewlett-Packard, including seven at the helm, died Thursday night in California, according to a statements issued by Boeing, where he served as a non-executive chairman after leaving HP. He was 64.The cause of his death was not provided.“Lew cared deeply for HP and its people, and his loss is being felt widely across our company,” HP President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mark Hurd said in a statement. “He was a natural leader who was enormously well liked and made an enduring impression on those he encountered. The way he treated people and how he ran the company set an exceptionally high standard of personal decency.” His death was also being felt at Boeing.“I am deeply saddened by Lew’s untimely death,” Boeing Chairman, President and CEO Jim McNerney said in a statement. “Lew shepherded Boeing with strength, grace, dignity and integrity through a period when the company most needed his steady hand. He was a compassionate man who put his own retirement and personal plans on the back burner to ensure that Boeing never missed a beat through its recent recovery.”Platt served in his role at the aerospace company as it recovered from a procurement scandal. He was at HP from 1966 to 1999, starting as an entry-level engineer in the medical products group and rising to become president and CEO, taking over from David Packard as chairman in 1993. A statement issued by HP Friday described Platt as “admired for his personal energy, openness and humor.”When Platt retired from HP, he went to work as chief executive of the Kendall-Jackson Wine Estates from 2000 to mid-2001.Platt and his wife, Joan Redmund Platt, had four children and one grandchild. A current biography of Platt is available at the Boeing Web site: http://www.boeing.com/companyoffices/aboutus/execprofiles/platt.html Technology Industry