IBM Corp ushered in the first female chief executive in the company’s 100-year history on Tuesday.
Virginia “Ginni” Rometty, a veteran at the technology giant famous for its conservative corporate culture, is to take over as chief executive from Sam Palmisano, IBM announced.
Palmisano has been chief executive for nearly a decade and he turned 60 this year. He is set to stay on as chairman.
Rometty, 54, takes over on Jan. 1. She is currently in charge of sales and marketing at the company.
When she takes over the helm at IBM, women will be in charge of two of the world’s largest technology companies. Last month, Meg Whitman was named chief executive of Hewlett-Packard Co (HP). Whitman had previously joined eBay Inc when it was a fledgling startup during the dot-com boom and guided it to become an Internet auction powerhouse. She also ran unsuccessfully for California governor last year.
While Whitman’s HP is a sprawling company in disarray, Rometty will inherit a finely-tuned IBM whose focus on the high-margin businesses of technology services and software has helped it thrive.
Their appointments are “setting a fabulous example” in the promotion of female executives, said Jean Bozman, an analyst with IDC who has followed both firms closely.
“It is a good sign,” Bozman said. “It does create an environment in which more of these high-ranking women executives can see that’s within reach. The more that happens, the more normal that will be. I think this might be a great sign that we’ve turned a corner. Certainly, the ‘Baby Boomers’ have wanted this for a long time.”
Palmisano in a statement said that Rometty has led some of IBM’s most important businesses and that she was instrumental in the formation of IBM’s business services division. She oversaw IBM’s US$3.5 billion purchase of PricewaterhouseCoopers’ consulting business in 2002, which is a key element of a strategy that has made IBM a widely copied company.
She is “more than a superb operational executive,” Palmisano said.
“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,” Palmisano said. “I know the board agrees with me that Ginni is the ideal CEO to lead IBM into its second century.”
Bobby Cameron, an analyst with Forrester Research who has worked with IBM in various roles over the years, said that in meetings Rometty is “engaging” and inquisitive. Her interest in emerging technologies, not just the established sales leaders, is an important characteristic. Cameron thinks she’s an ideal choice to continue Palmisano’s work.
“I think she’s smart. She asks questions. She doesn’t just come in with an agenda and she’s interested in the leading edge, not just what’s driving volume — all those things are important for a CEO to have,” Cameron said.
Palmisano has the same characteristics, Cameron said.
“I think it will be more of the same and I think that’s a good thing,” he said.
IBM shares fell US$1.16, or 0.6 percent, to US$179.20 in after-hours trading in New York after the change was announced.
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