IBM’s board of directors have announced that Virginia M. Rometty may be taking on as CEO of the corporate in 2012, succeeding current chief Samuel Palmisano. Palmisano will stay on as chairman of the board, but on the end of the year will give up the reins to Rometty who becomes considered one of several, but growing variety of female chief executives (alongside Meg Whitman ) within the tech industry. During her roughly decade long tenure with the corporate she has spearheaded the frenzy into the services industry and in 2009 became senior vp of sales, marketing and strategy, leading the charge into markets like China and India. The 54-year-old Rometty will look to continue Palmisano’s success, which has seen IBM become the second one most respected tech company on the earth, just before Microsoft and right behind Apple. Take a look at the complete PR after the break.
Samuel J. Palmisano continues as chairman
Armonk, NY, October 25, 2011 – The IBM board of directors has elected Virginia M. Rometty president and chief executive officer of the corporate, effective January 1, 2012. She was also elected a member of the board of directors, effective at the moment. Ms. Rometty is currently IBM senior vp and group executive for sales, marketing and strategy. She succeeds Samuel J. Palmisano, who currently is IBM chairman, president and chief executive officer. Mr. Palmisano will remain chairman of the board.
“Ginni Rometty has successfully led several of IBM’s most necessary businesses during the last decade-from the formation of IBM Global Business Services to the build-out of our Growth Markets Unit,” Mr. Palmisano said. “But she is greater than a very good operational executive. With every leadership role, she has strengthened our ability to integrate IBM’s capabilities for our clients. She has spurred us to maintain pace with the purposes and aspirations of our clients by deepening our expertise and industry knowledge. Ginni’s long-term strategic thinking and client focus are seen in our growth initiatives, from cloud computing and analytics to the commercialization of Watson. She brings to the role of CEO a novel combination of vision, client focus, unrelenting drive, and fervour for IBMers and the company’s future. i do know the board agrees with me that Ginni is the precise CEO to guide IBM into its second century.”
Samuel J. Palmisano and Virginia M. Ms. Rometty said: “There’s no greater privilege in business than to be asked to guide IBM, especially at this moment. Sam had the courage to rework the corporate in keeping with his belief that computing technology, our industry, even world economies would shift in historic ways. All of that has come to pass. Today, IBM’s strategies and business model are correct. Our ability to execute and deliver consistent results for clients and shareholders is powerful. Here’s with the aid of Sam’s leadership, his discipline, and his unshakable belief inside the ability of IBM and IBMers to steer into the longer term. Sam taught us, exceptionally, that we must not stop reinventing IBM.”
Mr. Palmisano, 60, became IBM chief executive officer in 2002 and chairman of the board in 2003. During his tenure, IBM exited commoditizing businesses, including PCs, printers and difficult disk drives, and greatly increased investments in high-value businesses and technologies. He has overseen the numerous expansion of IBM within the emerging markets of China, India, Brazil, Russia and dozens of alternative developing countries, transforming IBM from a multinational right into a globally integrated enterprise. In 2008, he launched IBM’s Smarter Planet strategy, which describes the company’s view of the subsequent era of info technology and its impact on business and society.
Since Mr. Palmisano became CEO, IBM has set records in pre-tax earnings, earnings per share, and free cash flow. During Mr. Palmisano’s tenure, IBM increased EPS by almost five times, generated over $100 billion in free cash flow, and invested greater than $50 billion in research and development-creating over $100 billion of shareholder value since 2002 through a rise in market capitalization and dividends paid.
As global sales leader for IBM, Ms. Rometty, 54, is chargeable for revenue, profit, and client satisfaction within the 170 global markets during which IBM does business. She is liable for IBM’s worldwide results, which exceeded $99 billion in 2010. She is also accountable for leading IBM’s global strategy, marketing and communications functions. Previously, Ms. Rometty was senior vice chairman of IBM Global Business Services. In that role, she led the successful integration of PricewaterhouseCoopers Consulting-the most important acquisition in professional services history, building a world team of greater than 100,000 business consultants and services experts. She has also served as general manager of IBM Global Services, Americas, and of IBM’s Global Insurance and monetary Services Sector.
Ms. Rometty joined IBM in 1981 as a systems engineer. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree with high honors in computer science and electrical engineering from Northwestern University.
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