IBM appoints Virginia M. Rometty as President and CEO

IBM appoints its ninth CEO, Virginia M. Rometty as the president and chief executive officer of the company with effect from January 1, 2012 and she will be operating from IBM's corporate headquarters in Armonk, N.Y. She will be replacing Samuel J. Palmisano. Rometty is currently the senior vice president and group executive for sales, marketing and strategy at IBM. She has been associated with IBM since 1981 as a systems engineer. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in computer science and electrical engineering from Northwestern University.

As global sales leader for IBM, Rometty is accountable for revenue, profit, and client satisfaction in the 170 global markets. She is responsible for IBM's worldwide results, which exceeded $99 billion in 2010. She is also responsible for leading IBM's global strategy, marketing and communications functions. As the senior vice president of IBM Global Business Services, 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.

During the tenure of Palmisano as CEO, who retires from CEO and remains as the chairman of the board, IBM has set records in pre-tax earnings, earnings per share, and free cash flow. IBM increased EPS by almost five times, generated over $100 billion in free cash flow, and invested more than $50 billion in research and development — creating over $100 billion of shareholder value since 2002 through an increase in market capitalization and dividends paid.