Virginia Rometty on leadership philosophy

About Virginia Rometty

Ginni Rometty, former Chairman, President, and CEO of IBM, has been speaking about leadership, artificial intelligence, and workforce development. In a 2023 SXSW conversation, she discussed her book "Good Power," which outlines five principles for using power positively. She described her personal background, including her mother's return to community college after her father left the family, as shaping her belief that "no matter how bad it gets there is always a Way Forward." Rometty advocated for a "skills first" movement in hiring, stating that "half the jobs in our country are over credentialed" and that IBM had hired 100,000 people in two years under that approach. She also reiterated her view that AI should "augment Humanity" and be built with "principles of trust and transparency." Earlier in her tenure, Rometty frequently described data as "the world's new natural resource" and argued that cognitive AI would impact every decision within five years. She promoted IBM's "Watson" platform as a tool for domains like healthcare and education, emphasizing that AI systems must be transparent and trained on unbiased data to avoid perpetuating historical biases. Rometty also spoke about the importance of corporate social responsibility, citing an IBM program that grew from a single school partnership to 300 high schools and 150,000 students globally. She has called for public policies that support data movement, skills upgrading, and investment in research, and has stated that companies must balance the interests of customers, shareholders, and communities.

Profile compiled from Virginia Rometty's verified public interviews and appearances. See all quotes & transcripts →