Ginni Rometty

Person

Virginia Marie “Ginni” Rometty (born July 29, 1957) is an American business executive. She is the current chair, president, and CEO of IBM, and the first woman to head the company.

#10 Forbes Power Woman 2017, #61 Powerful People 2016

Prior to becoming president and CEO in January 2012, she first joined IBM as a systems engineer in 1981 and subsequently headed global sales, marketing, and strategy. One of its main objectives is to focus the company’s efforts on cloud and cognitive computing systems, such as Watson.

Leader

Over the last 5 years under her leadership, IBM witnessed continuous change and evolved with the times. IBM used to splurge billions of dollars on research and development each year. In the year that Rometty was declared the CEO of IBM, that amount escalated to 6.9 billion dollars. One of the largest and most significant transactions in the history of IBM was the acquisition of the consulting division of the audit company Pricewaterhouse Coopers. And it took place under the leadership of Virginia Romette. Another major Virginia task is to lead a team of specialists who are developing a computer for the new generation of Watson.

Quotes

• Be first and be lonely.
• When people feel most at risk that they find the biggest successes.