IBM president and CEO Ginny Rometty. Photo by IBM
IBM’s president and CEO Virginia ‘Ginni’ Rometty is set to take over as chairman of the technology giant when current chairman Samuel Palmisano steps down from the board on 1 October.
In January, Rometty took over the CEO and president role from Palmisano, becoming the company’s ninth CEO and its first female leader. As for Palmisano, he will become senior adviser to IBM until he retires on 1 December 2012.
Rometty (55) started her career with IBM in 1981. She has held a series of leadership positions at the company, most recently as senior vice-president and group executive for IBM sales, marketing and strategy.
During her tenure as senior vice-president, IBM global business services, Rometty also led the integration of PricewaterhouseCoopers Consulting in 2002, helping IBM amass a team of more than 100,000 business consultants.
Fortune magazine has named Rometty in its ’50 Most Powerful Women in Business’ list for eight consecutive years. She earned the top spot in the ranking for 2012.
