10 Things You Didn't Know About IBM CEO Ginni Rometty

IBM is and will always be one of the biggest names in the computer industry. Apple may be big now, but there was a time when IBM was the big hit. Regardless, the company is still around making innovations year after year, and heading that party is one incredible female CEO, Ginni Rometty. Born as Virginia Marie Rometty, this American business executive has been president and CEO of IBM since 2012, and she’s been running the global company successfully for six years now and going strong. There’s a lot we can learn from this female leader in an industry dominated by males. Here are 10 things you probably didn’t know about Ginni that you ought to.

1. Most influential

Ginni has been named by Bloomberg as one of the 50 Most Influential People in the World, and Fortune has also named her as one of the 50 Most Powerful Women in Business. Both these accolades could be attributed to her tenure as CEO of one of the world’s largest company.

2. Illinois native

Ginni was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois. She comes from a hardworking Italian-American family, and she actually started working at a fairly young age, taking on multiple jobs to assist her family with the finances. Being the eldest of four children, she also had to take on the role of matriarch often when her mother is out working late nights.

3. College degree

Ginni attended Northwestern University in 1975 on a scholarship from General Motors. She ended up interning for GM during her junior and senior year, giving her valuable experiences that she’ll take with her after college. She graduated with honors in 1979, receiving a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering. She continued her studies and received doctoral degrees afterwards.

4. General Motors

She continued her relationship with GM right out of college and began to work for the company in Detroit in 1979. She worked in the applications and systems development department, where she would stay for about 2 years.

5. IBM

In 1981, Ginni left GM to begin her career with IBM. She would stay there for the rest of her professional life. She started her career in Detroit as well as a systems analyst and systems engineer. She would quickly climb up the ranks, obtaining management positions early in her career.

6. CEO

Ginni’s tenure as CEO has been full of successes. She led the company’s growth in the 2000s and continues to push the boundaries into the future. Ginni has been awarded for her efforts multiple times, and she’s constantly being recognized for the great decisions she’s been making for the company. She has dramatically increased the revenue of the company, which was falling so to speak when she took over in 2012.

7. Active in women’s leadership

Ginni is a board member in a few organizations. She works with the Women in Technology Council, Women’s Executive Council, and Women’s Leadership Council. She also serves as board member for the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and the Latin America Conservation Council. Other organizations she serves include the Council on Foreign Relations and of course, Northwestern University.

8. Broadway fan

Ginni and her husband reside in New York part of the year, and Ginni claims that one of her hobbies is Broadway. She’s probably seen them all, but we’re not entirely sure which one her favorite show is yet.

9. Florida

Ginni spends half the year in Bonita Springs, Florida, and she’s probably there during the colder months. One of Ginni’s other hobbies include scuba diving, and Florida is known to have some of the best dive sites in the nation. Bonita Springs is located on the western coast of Florida just off the Gulf of Mexico.

10. Golf

If she’s in Florida, you can probably guess that Ginni is golfing at some point. It turns out that golfing is more than a hobby for this talented CEO. In 2014, Ginni actually became the third female member of the Augusta National Golf Club. It’s an honor to say the least to be a member there, and for female members, it’s more reare an opportunity. Ginni has crossed many boundaries before, and this just happens to be another one.