IBM Names Research Veteran as CIO
02 March 2021 - 11:29AM
Dow Jones News
By Jared Council
International Business Machines Corp. named a new chief
information officer, as the 109-year-old company works to revamp
growth by focusing on artificial intelligence and hybrid-cloud
computing.
Kathryn Guarini, a 20-plus year IBM veteran, replaces outgoing
CIO Fletcher Previn, who is leaving to pursue other opportunities,
the company said.
IBM declined to make Ms. Guarini, who most recently served as
chief operations officer and vice president of impact science
within IBM Research, available for an interview. Mr. Fletcher, who
the company said will work with Ms. Guarini "over the coming weeks"
on the transition, couldn't be reached for comment.
"The IBM CIO role is one of the most challenging in the
industry," said Gartner Inc. vice president Chirag Dekate. As CIO,
Ms. Guarini will oversee an information technology team of over
12,000 employees who are responsible for managing IT infrastructure
used by more than 350,000 IBM workers around the world, he
said.
Ms. Guarini's other priorities will likely include harnessing
those technologies IBM is focusing on for growth, he said.
Her appointment comes as IBM is trying to boost sales partly by
focusing on AI and hybrid-cloud computing, in which companies use a
combination of their own data centers and computing resources
leased from others and accessed online.
IBM is betting it can assist companies in managing the
complexities of such transitions, and help them take advantage of
artificial intelligence.
Helping companies glean value from AI can be a tall order,
depending on the industry. The Wall Street Journal reported last
month that IBM is exploring the sale of its Watson Health unit,
highlighting the challenges of building data sets that unlock the
full value of AI in the healthcare sector.
Tim Crawford, of tech advisory firm Avoa, said as CIO, Ms.
Guarini can help IBM engage with or better understand the needs of
other CIOs. "Generally, the CIO role can be a strong advocate and
conduit to engage other CIOs," he said. "She could leverage these
relationships to help ground IBM as addressing customers' changing
needs."
Beginning in spring 2017, when he was named CIO, Mr. Previn
prioritized user experience in the development of internal
applications and systems, in an effort to attract and retain
employees. Among other moves, Mr. Previn hired an executive
reporting to him to oversee a team responsible for designing IT
services while taking into account user research, workflow and
metrics.
"Fletcher Previn established a strong foundation of improved
internal tools, applications and IT infrastructure to improve
productivity of IBMers," Mr. Dekate of Gartner said. "He also
helped IBM navigate Covid and the resultant effects on the
workforce dynamics."
Mr. Previn succeeded Jeff Smith, who helped institute a culture
of agile software development during his tenure from 2014 to
2017.
Ms. Guarini has held various technical, management and executive
positions since joining IBM in 1999, according to the company.
Within IBM Research, she was responsible for projects related to
the future of health, work, and climate, among other duties,
according to the company.
Write to Jared Council at jared.council@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 01, 2021 19:14 ET (00:14 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2021 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
International Business M... (NYSE:IBM)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2024 to May 2024
International Business M... (NYSE:IBM)
Historical Stock Chart
From May 2023 to May 2024