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10 IBM executives
These ten current and former IBM executives have held CEO, CFO, chief operating officer, president and senior vice president roles at IBM, including IBM Consulting, IBM Infrastructure, IBM Research and IBM Japan. Readers can learn how IBM's leaders run finance, operations, transformation and consulting, and how decisions are made across the company's business units.
Professionals to explore
01—10Akio Yamaguchi
LinkedInExperience: General Manager and President · IBM Japan,Ltd.
Former General Manager and President of IBM Japan (2019–2026) and Chairman and Representative Director of IBM Japan since August 2026. His profile describes system development work for financial institutions, leading the Y2K program office for IBM Asia Pacific and strategy planning for IBM Japan as Management & Planning Officer. He has also been Chairman of the Japan Association of Corporate Executives (Keizai Doyukai) since 2026.
Arvind Krishna
LinkedInExperience: Chief Executive Officer · IBM
Chief Executive Officer of IBM since April 2020 and Chairman since January 2021. Before becoming CEO he was Senior Vice President, Cloud and Cognitive Software (2019–2020) and Senior Vice President, Hybrid Cloud and Director, IBM Research (2015–2019). His profile says he began his career at IBM in 1990 at its Thomas J. Watson Research Center.
Barry Baker
LinkedInExperience: Senior Vice President, Infrastructure · IBM
Senior Vice President, Infrastructure at IBM since September 2026, and Chief Operating Officer, IBM Infrastructure & General Manager, IBM Systems since 2025. He was Chief Operating Officer, IBM Infrastructure (2022–2025) and Vice President, Product Management of IBM Z & LinuxONE (2021–2023). His profile says he leads the infrastructure business behind IBM's hybrid cloud and AI strategy.
Cynthia Alexander
LinkedInExperience: Vice President & CFO, IBM Infrastructure · IBM
Vice President & CFO, IBM Infrastructure since June 2024. At IBM she was also Vice President & Assistant Controller, Cognitive Enterprise Svcs & Transformation (2019–2024) and Vice President of Finance & CFO, z Systems (2014–2015). Her profile lists skills in management and in financial planning, analysis, management and reporting.
Diana Robinson
LinkedInExperience: Chief Operating Officer, IBM Consulting · IBM
Chief Operating Officer, IBM Consulting since October 2021. At IBM she was also Executive Director, Sales Management Support, North America Financial Services (2016–2021) and Chief Financial Officer, North America Systems Hardware (2010–2012). Her profile describes 24 years of sales, operations and finance roles at a billion-dollar information technology corporation.
James J. Kavanaugh
LinkedInExperience: Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President, Finance and Operations · IBM
Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President, Finance and Operations at IBM since 2018. He was Senior Vice President, Transformation and Operations (2015–2018) and Vice President, IBM Controller (2008–2015). His profile says he works to ensure all parts of IBM come together to deliver on the company's mission.
Joanne Wright
LinkedInExperience: Senior Vice President, Transformation and Operations · IBM
Senior Vice President, Transformation and Operations at IBM since December 2022. She was Vice President Enterprise Operations & Services (2018–2022) and Vice President, IBM Supply Chain (2014–2018). She says she drives IBM's enterprise transformation as the company's Client Zero, delivering $4.5 billion in savings, and her headline also lists procurement, the CIO and Chief Data and Analytics Office, and global real estate.
John Granger
LinkedInExperience: Senior Vice President, IBM Consulting · IBM
Former Senior Vice President, IBM Consulting (2022–2024) and Chairman, IBM Consulting since July 2024. He also held Senior Vice President Hybrid Cloud Services and Chief Operating Officer, IBM Consulting (2021) and Chief Operating Officer, IBM Global Business Services (2018–2021). He writes that IBM Consulting, which he chairs, has 160,000 consultants helping enterprises with business transformation.
Kelley Hadlow
LinkedInExperience: Chief Operating Officer, NA Distribution Market · IBM Consulting
Chief Operating Officer, NA Distribution Market at IBM Consulting since 2022, and listed as Chief Operating Officer at IBM since 2023. Other IBM roles listed include Controller (2019–2022) and Senior Finance Operations Manager, US Federal Sector, IBM Consulting (2012–2019). The profile headline reads Chief Operating Officer, IBM Consulting.
Talia Gershon
LinkedInExperience: Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of IBM Research and IBM Quantum · IBM
Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of IBM Research and IBM Quantum since July 2026, and Director, Quantum Cloud Services at IBM since December 2025. She was Director, Hybrid Cloud Infrastructure Research (2019–2025). She describes a career that has taken her from semiconductor device physics to leadership in technical strategy, cloud and AI infrastructure research, quantum computing and, most recently, business and IT operations.
Choose the right perspective
Match the executive's function and business unit to your question, since corporate officers and business-unit chief operating officers see different parts of IBM's decisions. Check each role's dates so you know whether the person's IBM experience is current or from an earlier period.
Questions to take into the conversation
- 01How does IBM decide where to invest across software, infrastructure and consulting?
- 02What does IBM's finance organization weigh when evaluating a major acquisition, partnership or supplier?
- 03How does IBM roll out internal transformation and operations programs across its business units?
About this directory
This is a professional research starting point based on business profile data retrieved on . Titles and companies reflect that source snapshot and may describe past or present roles. Check the linked profiles for current details. Inclusion does not imply Instant Expert membership or availability.
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