Pyrex, into new markets like health imaging or a 100-year-old company, like Philips, from lighting to healthcare electronics, then Kodak can by focusing on what historically is relevant to it roots: producing images.

FORBES: Kodak: RIP'd From Its Roots Or Back To Them?

When Mr Ackerman took the top job in 1996, replacing James Houghton of the firm's founding family, the company was still a slow-growing conglomerate best known for its retail brands, such as Pyrex and Corning Ware.

ECONOMIST: The re-education of Roger Ackerman