Arvind Krishna Appointed as IBM CEO

IBM has named Arvind Krishna as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the company and also a member of the Board of Directors. Indian Origin Arvind Krishna, is an IIT Kanpur alumnus, he is working with IBM since 1990. The appointment will be effective from April 6, 2020. Currently, he is serving as senior VP at IBM. He was a major creator of the company’s acquisition of Red Hat.

James Whitehurst, IBM Senior Vice President and CEO of Red Hat, was also elected by the Board as IBM President, effective April 6, 2020.

Virginia Rometty IBM Chairman, President, and CEO will continue as Executive Chairman of the Board and serve through the end of the year when she will retire after almost 40 years with the organization.

Virginia Rometty said, “Arvind is the right CEO for the next era at IBM, he is a brilliant technologist who has played a vital role in developing our key technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), cloud, quantum computing, and blockchain. He is also a superb operational leader, able to win today while building the business of tomorrow. Arvind has grown IBM’s Cloud and Cognitive Software business and led the largest acquisition in the company’s history. Through his multiple experiences running businesses in IBM, Arvind has built an outstanding track record of bold transformations and proven business results, and is an authentic, values-driven leader. He is well-positioned to lead IBM and its clients into the cloud and cognitive era”.

Arvind Krishna a 57 years old business executive, is IBM Senior Vice President for Cloud and Cognitive Software, where he leads the IBM business unit that provides the cloud and data platform on which IBM’s clients produce the future.

His current duties also involve the IBM Cloud, IBM Security and Cognitive Applications business, and IBM Research. Previously, he was general manager of IBM’s Systems and Technology Group’s development and manufacturing organization. Before that, he built and led many of IBM’s data-related businesses.

He has an undergraduate degree from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur (IIT Kanpur), and a PhD. in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

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On the appointment as IBM CEO, Arvind Krishna said, “I am thrilled and humbled to be elected as the next CEO of IBM, and appreciate the confidence that Ginni and the Board have placed in me,” said Krishna. “IBM has such talented people and technology that we can bring together to help our clients solve their toughest problems. I am looking forward to working with IBMers, Red Hatters, and clients around the world at this unique time of fast-paced change in the IT industry. We have great opportunities ahead to help our clients advance the transformation of their business while also remaining the global leader in the trusted stewardship of the technology. Jim will be a great partner in the next step of this journey.”

James Whitehurst is IBM Senior Vice President and CEO of Red Hat, which was acquired by IBM in 2019. He has been a keen advocate for open software as a catalyst for business innovation. During his tenure at Red Hat, revenue grew over eight times and market capitalization by more than ten times. He joined Red Hat from Delta Airlines, where he drove the important global expansion and, as Chief Operating Officer, oversaw all perspectives of airline operations. Before that, he was a partner at The Boston Consulting Group. Mr. Whitehurst earned a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and Economics from Rice University and holds an MBA from Harvard Business School.

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