IBM names new CEO; Palmisano to stay on as chairman

Virginia M. Rometty had been elected president and CEO of IBM Corp., replacing current Chairman and CEO Samuel J. Palmisano effective Jan. 1, 2012.

Palmisano will remain chairman, a position he has held since 2003, the company said.

Rometty, who joined IBM in 1981 as a systems engineer, is senior vice president and group executive for sales, marketing and strategy. As global sales leader, she is responsible for monitoring revenues and profits in all of IBM”™s 170 global markets.

Since Palmisano was named CEO in 2002, the company increased its earnings per share by almost five times and generated more than $100 billion in free cash flow while investing more than $50 billion in research and development.