The following announcement was shared with IBMers on December 1, 2022.

Team,

I have two important announcements to share with you. First, Obed Louissaint, SVP of transformation and culture, will step down from his role at IBM on December 31 to become the Chief Human Resources Officer of Aptiv. Second, I am delighted to announce that effective immediately, Joanne Wright will become our new SVP of transformation and operations.

I want to thank Obed for all his hard work to shape our culture and define our collective growth behaviors. As a seasoned HR leader, he has led the creation of new approaches to develop and attract talent. For the past 21 years, Obed has held a series of roles at IBM including launching the culture and people processes for the Watson business. Additionally, he led building out Consulting Delivery Centers and partnered with senior leadership to deliver an enterprise skills management model for IBM, including AI Academy and Cloud Academy. 

In her new role, Joanne will continue work to transform our business operations. One of her key focus areas will be to simplify the way our company runs by infusing capabilities such as automation and intelligent workflows across the organization. This will help boost productivity, which is essential as we accelerate the execution of our strategy and continuously find ways to better serve our clients and partners. Her leadership responsibilities will span across operations, procurement, the Chief Information Office, and the Chief Data Office. 

Joanne is a leader with a deep understanding of our business, as well as the needs of IBMers, our clients and partners. In her almost 25-year career at IBM, Joanne has held key leadership roles across procurement, manufacturing, supply chain, and operations. She has also led the transformation of our quote-to-cash process and helped make IBM client zero for our automation and advanced analytics technology. In this new role, Joanne will report to Jim Kavanaugh, and become a member of IBM’s Executive Leadership Team.

With these changes, Obed will transition his responsibilities during December. All efforts and activities related to global learning, diversity & inclusion, and talent acquisition will remain in Nickle LaMoreaux’s organization. She will be sharing further information on that in the future. 

Please join me in thanking Obed for his leadership and positive impact on IBM, and congratulating Joanne on her new appointment.

Arvind Krishna

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, IBM