IBM taps first woman CEO to succeed Palmisano
— -- IBM on Tuesday tapped Virginia "Ginni" Rometty to succeed Sam Palmisano as chief executive officer, becoming the first female CEO in the company's 100-year history.
Rometty, 54, will take the helm effective Jan. 1.
Analysts say that the 30-year IBM veteran was the natural choice. She is currently senior vice president and IBM's head of sales, marketing and strategy.
"She was the key executive in leading the IBM integration of PricewaterhouseCoopers into IBM," says IDC analyst Frank Gens. "That was instrumental in IBM's transformation."
In 2002 IBM acquired PricewaterhouseCoopers Consulting for $3.9 billion, the computing giant's largest deal ever at the time. The move was part of IBM's shift away from hardware and into software and services. It eventually sold its PC division to China's Lenovo.
During the PricewaterhouseCoopers integration, Rometty was a general manager of the consulting unit at IBM. She is credited with helping to retain PricewaterhouseCoopers' principal consultants, who didn't always mesh with IBM's cost-cutting culture.
Palmisano promoted her to senior vice president of the group in 2005, and she boosted profit at the unit 42% in her first two years on the job. During her three decades at IBM, she became known for her ability to close a sale, expanding relationships with companies from State Farm Insurance to Prudential Financial.
"She's great with customers," says Fred Amoroso, who was her boss in the financial services consulting division during the 1990s.
Amid the recession, Palmisano put Rometty in charge of running the company's almost $100 billion in sales. Last year, she added marketing and strategy to her responsibilities.
She's also a key player in IBM's emerging-markets strategy. "It's been very much part of IBM's profits over the years," says Gens. "She's made gutsy calls and good calls over the years."
Palmisano, who served nearly a decade as CEO, turned 60 in July. He will stay on as chairman.
Contributing: Bloomberg News
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