Linda Sanford, Senior Vice President of Enterprise on Demand Transformation and Information Technology at IBM Corporation, will give a Distinguished Guest Lecture for the International Women’s Day on Thursday 26 March.
Abstract
The current economic climate represents a different kind of downturn than before – industry landscapes are being restructured dramatically, with firms failing or merging nearly overnight. All indications are this will be a prolonged downturn – it’s going to take some time to unwind the various systemic issues that combined to set off this economic crisis, the worst in generations. And yet this period of discontinuity is also a period of opportunity – for exceptional leaders. Over the next couple of years, there will be winners, and there will be losers. New leaders will emerge who have demonstrated the ability to guide their organizations through an economic storm and arrive stronger on the other side.
What characteristics will these leaders share? How will they inspire their people to accomplish game-changing moves in a time of paralyzing uncertainty? What makes women leaders uniquely “wired” to succeed as 21st century global leaders?
The leader of IBM’s transformation efforts will reflect on these and other questions, based on her own experience at IBM and working with change leaders at organizations around the world.
Biography
Linda Sanford leads the strategy for IBM’s internal transformation to the premier globally integrated enterprise. In this role, Ms. Sanford is responsible for working across IBM to transform core business processes, create an IT infrastructure to support and integrate processes globally, and help create a culture that fosters innovation.
Previously Ms. Sanford was Senior Vice President & Group Executive, IBM Storage Systems Group, where she helped take IBM from fifth place in storage market share to second in two years. Prior to assuming that position, Ms. Sanford headed IBM Global Industries, the organization that manages relationships with IBM’s largest customers worldwide and is responsible for generating almost 70 percent of IBM’s revenue.
< p class=”300″ style=”margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;”>Before that, Ms. Sanford was General Manager of IBM’s S/390 Division, which develops, manufactures and markets large-enterprise systems. During the early 1990s, she guided the S/390 Division through one of the most comprehensive product transformations the computer industry has ever seen, reinventing S/390 as an open, enterprise-level server.
One of the highest-ranking women at IBM, Ms. Sanford is a member of the Women in Technology International Hall of Fame and the National Academy of Engineering. She has been named one of the 50 Most Influential Women in Business by Fortune Magazine, one of the Top Ten Innovators in the Technology Industry by Information Week Magazine, one of the Ten Most Influential Women in Technology by Working Woman Magazine, and one of the Top 15 Women in Business by PINK Magazine.
If you would to reserve a place in advance or for enquiry, please email icbs.events@imperial.ac.uk.