IBM announced the Virginia Rometty, a senior VP and group executive for IBM Sales, Marketing and Strategy as its next CEO, replacing retiring CEO Sam Palmisano. Rometty will take over on Jan. 1. She will also serve as president and join the board. Palmisano will retain his role as chairman. In her current role, Rometty 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. She has been named to Fortune’s “50 Most Powerful Women in Business” for the past six years. Rometty, who is 54, takes the reins after IBM celebrated its centennial and as steady profit growth pushed the shares this year to the highest level since the company went public in 1915. Her experience in sales, services and acquisitions fits with the strategic direction set by Palmisano, who said last year the company will add $20 billion to revenue between 2010 and 2015 by expanding in markets such as cloud computing and analytics.
Rometty grew up in a Chicago suburb, the oldest of four children. In 1979, she got a degree in computer science and electrical engineering from Northwestern University and headed to an internship with General Motors in Detroit, where she met her husband, Mark. After her internship, she joined IBM. She now splits her time between homes in White Plains, New York, and Bonita Springs, Florida, where she and Mark are avid scuba divers. Rometty will become the first women to hold the title of IBM in its history. Do you think that her gender will play a role in the way workers within IBM respond to her? Should she approach the job any different then she did before to try and earn early respect?
Cliffton Gordon
This is really interesting to see how a women is going to take hold of IBM. It has been on the rise for the past few years it would be interesting to see what new ideas she has to implement into the company. She clearly has an impressive resume and i hope she leads IBM into a new technological age.
ReplyDeleteBrian Gabriel
Louis Gerstner revived a vanishing IBM in 1993 and since the turnaround IBM has been major force in the industry. IBM manages to create new technologies and beat out competitors in the industry. Virginia has been with IBM for 30 years and has gained the respect of IBM employees.
ReplyDeleteI do not believe she needs to change her approach to leadership because she has proven she can be an effective leader. Virginia should reach out to all employees and make sure the workforce continues to stay unified. She needs to focus on the transformational leadership model to instill trust and motivate her employees to continue achieving great things with IBM. Virginia Rometty will continue the success that IBM has experienced since its creation in 1915.
Mark Tokarz
Team 1
I really think she should keep her leadership styles open for adaptation depending on how the employees, or stakeholders in general, respond to her new position. From what I've read, I also think a transformational leadership approach looks like the best one right to implement right now, but if history has told us anything it's that people don't respond the same to female leaders even today.
ReplyDeleteA more directive or authoritarian approach might be needed if people don't take her seriously but hopefully it doesn't come to that. She's been so successful with the way she's been doing things so I hope she doesn't have to change too much in order to achieve the same results.
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Daniel Changelon