Was about time. 20 plus missed quarters! I don’t know many other CEOs that could have lasted that long... Aivars Lode
International Business Machines Corp. said Chief Executive Ginni Rometty is stepping down after a challenging eight-year run at the top of the iconic technology company, as she struggled to deliver growth at a time other tech giants’ fortunes blossomed.
Ms. Rometty, 62 years old, will formally step down on April 6. She will be succeeded by Arvind Krishna, who heads the company’s cloud and cognitive-software division, the company said on Thursday. Jim Whitehurst—the chief executive of Red Hat, the open-source software giant that IBM acquired for about $33 billion last year—was appointed the company’s president.
It is the first time in decades that IBM will have a leadership structure with a CEO and separate president. They form a dual executive team—one member with deep IBM experience and another new to the company—focused on reviving its fortunes.
Ms. Rometty will continue as the company’s board chairman through the end of the year, when she will retire after almost four decades with Big Blue, the company said. Ms. Rometty has been one of the most high-profile female CEOs in business, where the top ranks are still dominated by men.
During her time at the helm of one of the U.S.’s most storied companies, shares in IBM fell by more than 25%, lagging other tech giants. Microsoft Corp. shares are up more than 500% during the period. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index rose around 250% over that time. IBM sales during the period fell more than 25%.
