“IBM has named Sam Palmisano to become its president and chief
operating officer and John M. Thompson to the position of vice
chairman in what could be the first stages of a succession plan for
Lou Gerstner.”
“The promotions of the longtime IBM veterans come at a time of
inconsistent growth for Big Blue. In recent quarters, IBM has seen
strong growth in software sales, microelectronics, notebooks and
Web servers. On the other hand, the company has been losing market
share in PCs while mainframe and services sales have been
relatively lackluster recently.
“Palmisano, who was touted in the past as a candidate for the
CEO slot at Apple and Hewlett-Packard, will assume responsibility
for IBM’s operating units, including all product and services
divisions as well as the company’s sales and distribution and
global financing businesses. Thompson, meanwhile, will
be responsible for integrating and accelerating IBM’s efforts in
emerging growth areas such as Internet services, wireless
technology and Linux.”