Virginia Rometty, a prominent figure in the realm of technology and business, is widely recognized for her transformative leadership as the former Chairman, President, and CEO of IBM (International Business Machines Corporation).
She was also the first ever woman to head the company.
First published in Passions, Vol. 56, this article has been repurposed for the digital world – exclusive on VOICE OF ASIA.
As the former Chairperson, President and CEO of IBM, Virginia Rometty – better known as Ginni Rometty – headed the second-largest company in the United States and fourth-largest in the world by market capitalisation (valued at US$200 billion at the time). While many outsiders were not familiar with her name, her appointment did not surprise industry insiders. While Sam Palmisano, her immediate predecessor as IBM chief, is often credited for strategising IBM’s recovery, Rometty’s part as one of the company’s most capable operatives cannot be ignored. It was she who led the company’s push into emerging markets, which is expected to contribute 30% of the company’s revenue by the year 2015, and she was the driving force behind the move to tap into the cloud computing and analytics market. With IT being one of the main drivers of the new economy, Ginni Rometty’s ability to see trends and innovations was crucial to IBM and the industry as a whole.