Harriet Green (IBM)
Harriet Green has resigned from her role as CEO and chairman of IBM in Asia Pacific, exiting Big Blue after four and a half years in the top role.
Revealed via social media, the industry executive made the “hard decision” to resign from the business to “take some time out of my career to be with my family”.
“One of the things that sets IBM apart is its compassion, especially in supporting people through the lifetime of their personal needs,” wrote Green, via LinkedIn. “For me, right now, that means shifting my focus and spending more time caring for those people closest to me.
“My time with IBM has been among the most fulfilling periods of my career, working closely with clients on their most challenging business transformation initiatives. I've valued this opportunity tremendously and will take only good memories with me to this next important chapter - one that many of you will have undertaken.”
Green joined IBM in September 2015 as general manager of Watson Internet of Things, Commerce and Education, based in the UK. In January 2018, Green was handed the reins of Asia Pacific, tasked with driving growth across the entire region.
Prior to joining the technology giant, Green was CEO of the Thomas Cook Group - which collapsed in September 2019 - leading the global transformation and rebranding of one of the oldest names in leisure travel.
“When I first started at IBM, it took me a little while to understand why people referred to themselves as IBMers,” Green added. “But now I see things a little differently. I’ve come to realise that this is about ascribing to a shared set of values.
“Many of those values are things that I’ve always embraced - like diversity and inclusiveness, for example. But because we share these values as an organisation, collectively we’re able to make real change in the world.
“In that respect, I feel like I’ve become an IBMer as well, and that this is one of the many gifts that I’ll take with me as I move on to the next chapter in my life."
