IBM's board of directors has elected Virginia M. Rometty president and chief executive officer of the company, effective January 1, 2012. Rometty is currently senior vice president and group executive for sales, marketing and strategy. She will succeed Samuel J. Palmisano, who currently is IBM chairman, president and chief executive officer and will remain chairman in the new year.
"Ginni Rometty has successfully led several of IBM's most important businesses over the past decade — from the formation of IBM Global Business Services to the build-out of our Growth Markets Unit," Palmisano said in a press release. "But she is more than a superb operational executive. With every leadership role, she has strengthened our ability to integrate IBM's capabilities for our clients. She has spurred us to keep pace with the needs 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 unique combination of vision, client focus, unrelenting drive, and passion for IBMers and the company's future. I know the board agrees with me that Ginni is the ideal CEO to lead IBM into its second century."
"There is no greater privilege in business than to be asked to lead IBM, especially at this moment," Rometty said. "Sam had the courage to transform the company based on 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 strong. This is due to Sam's leadership, his discipline, and his unshakable belief in the ability of IBM and IBMers to lead into the future. Sam taught us, above all, that we must never stop reinventing IBM."
As global sales leader for IBM, Rometty, 54, is accountable for revenue, profit, and client satisfaction in the 170 global markets in which IBM does business. She is responsible for IBM's worldwide results, which exceeded $99 billion in 2010. She also is responsible for leading IBM's global strategy, marketing and communications functions. Previously, Ms. Rometty was senior vice president of IBM Global Business Services. In that role, she led the integration of PricewaterhouseCoopers Consulting — the largest acquisition in professional services history, building a global team of more 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 Financial Services Sector. Rometty joined IBM in 1981 as a systems engineer.
