Armonk, N.Y., USA - September 26, 2012, Armonk, N.Y., USA - The IBM elected Virginia M. Rometty chairman of the board, effective October 1, 2012.
Article continues below
Ms. Rometty is President and Chief Executive Officer of IBM. She was appointed to these positions effective January 1, 2012. Ms. Rometty began her career with IBM in 1981 in Detroit, Michigan. Since then she has held a series of leadership positions in IBM, most recently as Senior Vice President and Group Executive, IBM Sales, Marketing and Strategy.
Prior to this, Ms. Rometty served as Senior Vice President, IBM Global Business Services, where she led the successful integration of PricewaterhouseCoopers Consulting. This acquisition was the largest in professional services history. In this role, Ms. Rometty also led the development of IBM Global Delivery Centers in China and India. In recognition of her leadership, Ms. Rometty was honored with the Carl Sloane Award 2006, given by the Association of Management Consulting Firms.
In prior leadership roles, Ms. Rometty served as general manager of IBM Global Services, Americas, as well as general manager of IBM's Global Insurance and Financial Services Sector. Ms. Rometty is a leader in diversity initiatives including IBM’s Women in Technology Council and the Women's Leadership Council, and is one of the senior sponsors of the Women's Executive Council. She is a frequent speaker at industry and business conferences, and has been named to Fortune magazine's “50 Most Powerful Women in Business” for seven consecutive years, including most recently in 2011.
Ms. Rometty holds a Bachelor of Science degree with high honors in computer science and electrical engineering from Northwestern University. Mrs. Rometty succeeds Samuel J. Palmisano, who is stepping down from the board effective October 1, 2012.
Mr. Palmisano is chairman of the Board of IBM and chair of IBM’s Executive Committee. Mr. Palmisano began his career with IBM in 1973 in Baltimore, Maryland. Since then, he has taken on a series of leadership positions during his IBM career, including senior vice president and group executive of the Personal Systems Group in 1997, senior vice president and group executive of IBM Global Services in 1998, senior vice president and group executive of Enterprise Systems in 1999, president and chief operating officer in 2000, chief executive officer in 2002 and chairman of the Board in 2003. He was president and chief executive officer through 2011.
Mr. Palmisano is a graduate of The Johns Hopkins University. In recognition of his leadership role as co-chair of the Council on Competitiveness’ National Innovation Initiative, as well as his many business accomplishments, Mr. Palmisano was awarded an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Humane Letters from Johns Hopkins University in 2012 and from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 2005. ■