IBM names Ginni Rometty prez and CEO The suspense over who is going to run Big Blue after Sam Palmisano retires has ended. In fact, even before he retires, Ginni Rometty – a systems engineer who has worked her way up through the ranks since joining IBM three decades ago – has been named president and CEO, effective January 1, 2012. Rometty, 54, currently runs …
But for HP ? No way... she is the type who understands the internal IBM world very well... but wouldn't fit in any another company. Probably that should be the plan on how CEOs should be picked - especially when everything is running smoothly.
Going [OT]:
What if things are not running smoothly ?
Plan A: If staggering growth is your concern, find a charismatic, young exec internally who is known for vision & drive, even if that person is short on experience. Or an internal S.O.B bean counter for a brief period if managing costs is your concern (mark hurdesque but on a 1 year tenure).
Plan B: If company is in a rut, get a back an ex-employee who has seen the world on the outside but still understands the internal character of the company.
Plan C: If you truly want to re-invent your business - acquire a smart, forward looking company and direct funds to that business. Ensure the CEO of the smaller company is groomed to lead the larger business. You simply can't re-invent yourself just by hiring a big shot CEO who can cash out within an year.
And how not to pick a CEO ?
Ask HP & Nokia who seem to have a fetish for "outsiders" who push a unidimensional plan down the companies throat.....
1) Carly: I love making big deals.. its so sexy! so celebrity like! (PS: I don't like dealing with the aftermath... where is my tiara?).
2) Hurd: cut cost - it works in short run. (PS: my bonus is my shares.. which will go up in the short run. I win! I WIN!).
3) Leo: go software becoz thats all I know!!! (PS: I didn't hire myself.. much like Sarah Palin didn't nominate herself).
4) Elop: I love M$! (PS: suck this Nokia!!! Wait.. what you pay my bills ?? Hmm... so what! I still love M$.. always will!)
She's inheriting a mess and a lot of expectations to manage.
Sorry, but IBM had been cutting things too close to the bone for a long time and the margins are shrinking on their software and services.
Something has got to give and it will soon.
Unless she can get the company to recognize their core values... S&D will end up sinking the ship.
Sounds like you've escaped from the Borg too! :-)
Yeah, moving the NA sales operations to Brazil didn't do much overall, except cause additional pain in S&D and made doing deals quickly more difficult. But then again. The regular IBMers I dealt with only worked 9-5 in their time zone so they weren't much help either.
The issue is that you can't keep doing the same old trick. We've seen this pattern for years. Moving staff offshore to India and then onshore them for IGS projects... not really smurt.
Then there was the effort to try and convince ex-pats to return to their home countries to work at their same job now off shored from the US but at local salaries. (Even if they had achieved perm residency. )
Yes the wonders never end... And people wonder why I think of IBMers as being arrogant.
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