IBM held out that there were three to four front runners for the position, but Rometty was the clear leader. In fact, at IBM's recent THINK Forum in New York, Sam Palmisano, IBM's outgoing president and CEO, practically thrust Rometty on the scene as his successor, playing her up and playfully chiding her about a $300 million deal she completed without any input from him.
Effective Jan. 1, 2012, Rometty becomes the boss at IBM. Palmisano will remain in office as chairman of the company's board of directors. But the day-to-day decisions move on to Rometty.
Rometty, who also held a prominent position in IBM's internal Centennial celebration to commemorate its 100 years in business, represents a major step in the history of IBM, in that she is the first woman to lead the company. IBM has a history of switching CEOs out after they turn 60. Palmisano is 60 and has ceded the president and CEO roles to Rometty while retaining the chairmanship.
Palmisano has been hugely successful at IBM. Known for his execution, he initially executed on many of the ideas put forth by former IBM CEO Lou Gerstner, and then he set his own path and began to execute on it.
Palmisano has seen IBM through times of adversity, such as economic slumps and layoffs. Yet the company is currently the second most valuable technology company behind Apple, beating out rival Microsoft for that position.
Palmisano's insistence on focusing on higher margin technologies and investing in initiatives such as growth markets, Smarter Planet, cloud computing and analytics have paid off.
Palmisano also committed to preserving the notion of an IBMer. He even revisited that notion and came up with a series of new values for the company and the IBMer: "dedication to every client's success; innovation that matters for our company and for the world; and trust and personal responsibility in all relationships."
What remains to be seen is what mark Rometty will put on the company.
"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 statement. "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."
“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. 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," said Samuel Palmisano.
As global sales leader for IBM, Ms. 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 successful 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.
“There is no greater privilege in business than to be asked to lead IBM, especially at this moment. 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,” said Ms. Rometty.
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