Ms. Virginia Rometty Senior VP Global Sales & Distribution - IBM
Plenary - Keynote Speech
Leadership in a smarter planet
Ginni Rometty will discuss how major shifts in the application of new technology are reshaping the IT industry and our world, creating increasing value in the new economic environment. Massive amounts of data collected through instrumentation and integration of systems are being shaped through advanced analytics to improve operational efficiency and make forward-looking decisions. With these new possibilities of smarter systems, come new challenges and the need for a different kind of leadership. Ms. Rometty will share her perspectives on the behaviors todays leaders need to embody to harness the possibilities of a smarter planet.
About Ms. Virginia Rometty
Ginni Rometty is the senior vice president, IBM Global Sales and Distribution, responsible for revenue, profit and client satisfaction in the 170 global markets in which IBM does business. In this role, Ms. Rometty is responsible for IBM's worldwide results, which exceeded $95 billion in 2009.
Previously, Ms. Rometty was the senior vice president, IBM Global Business Services. During her tenure, Ms. Rometty 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 service experts that apply information technology to help clients optimize their business performance.
In that position, Ms. Rometty led the build-out of IBM Global Delivery Centers in China and India, and developed personal expertise in leading large-scale complex transformations. In recognition of her leadership, Ms. Rometty was honored with the Carl Sloane Award 2006, given by the Association of Management Consulting Firms.
Other roles in IBM's Services business included general manager of IBM Global Services, Americas, where she was responsible for strategic leadership, operations and client relationships. Ms. Rometty also has served as the general manager of strategy, marketing and sales operations for IBM Global Services worldwide.
Before joining IBM Global Services, Ms. Rometty was general manager of IBM's Global Insurance and Financial Services Sector, where she led IBM's business strategy for the worldwide insurance marketplace, with responsibility for marketing, sales and consulting. She also directed the priorities of IBM's Insurance Research Centers in Hawthorne, N.Y., Zurich, Switzerland and Yamato, Japan, as well as IBM's insurance solutions development worldwide.
Ms. Rometty reports to the IBM Chairman, and serves on his global Performance Team and IBM's Integration and Values Team. She also is a member of the IBM corporate Operating Team and IBM Strategy Team. She is a leader in diversity initiatives including the Women in Technology Council and the Women's Leadership Council, and is one of the senior sponsors of the Women's Executive Council at IBM. She is a frequent speaker at industry and business conferences, and was named to Fortune magazine's "50 Most Powerful Women in Business" in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009, and Forbes magazine's 2008 and 2009 listing of the "World's 100 Most Powerful Women".
Ms. Rometty serves on the Board of Overseers of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center; the Board of Directors of APQC, a not-for-profit business research organization serving global companies; and on the Columbia Business School's Deming Cup committee, which recognizes individuals for operational excellence.
She holds a Bachelor of Science degree with high honors in computer science and electrical engineering from Northwestern University.