COMPANY IBM (International Business Machines) INDUSTRY Diversified Information Technologies & Consulting Services
REVENUE GROSS PROFIT MARGIN $106.9 M 46.9% 2011 $99.9 M 46.1% 2010 $95.8 M 45.7% 2009 FORTUNE (GLOBAL) 500 RANKING 19 2012 18 2011 20 2010 14 2009 CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS/LARGEST EMPLOYEE LOCATIONS HQ: Armonk, New York TOTAL APPROXIMATE EEs 433,362 2011 426,751 2010 399,409 2009 398,455 2008 TOTAL HR EEs >4,000 2012 CHRO/SVP-HR Randy MacDonald joined IBM in 2000 as Senior Vice President, Human Resources. In this position he is responsible for the global human resources practices, policies and operations of the organization, and reports to Virginia M. Rometty, President and Chief Executive Officer. Prior to joining IBM, Mr. MacDonald was the executive vice president of Human Resources and Administration for GTE (now Verizon Communications). Mr. MacDonald was with GTE for 17 years, holding positions of increasing responsibility. Before joining GTE, he held human resources positions at Ingersoll-Rand Company and Sterling Drug, Inc. In August 2009, Mr. MacDonald received the Distinguished Human Resources Executive Award from the Academy of Management for his significant contributions to the science and practice of human resources, including HR-related research and education. He is the first executive to receive this award twice; he was also recognized with this honor in 2004. Among many other awards, Mr. MacDonald was named Human Resource Executive Magazine s HR Executive of the Year in 2008. He is a member and past chair of Cornell University s Center for Advanced Human Resources Study and a past chair of the Personnel Roundtable. He also is a member of the HR Policy Association, which he served as Chairman of its Board of Directors. In 2011, Mr. MacDonald was named one of only 13 Distinguished Fellows of the National Academy of Human Resources, the human resource profession s highest honor for outstanding achievement.
In 1998, he was named a Fellow of the Academy, was elected to the Academy s Board of Directors in 2000, and serves as its Vice Chair. Mr. MacDonald has a bachelor s degree in political science and a master s degree in industrial relations from St. Francis University; he received the St. Francis University Distinguished Alumni in Business Award, and was a Trustee of the institution. Mr. MacDonald also serves as a Trustee of Bucknell University, and as vice chairman of the board. He is a member of the Board of Managers of Delphi Corporation and a former member of the Board of Directors of Covance. EARLY CAREER HR DEVELOPMENT INFORMATION Program structure, timeline, and candidate criteria: Since its founding over a century ago, IBM has continually exhibited leadership in the way it manages its employees. IBM opened the first professional training school for women; it was one of the first corporations to provide group life insurance, survivor benefits, and paid vacations; it offered training for persons with disabilities and civil rights protections to employees decades before such was required by law; and it was the first major company in the world to commit formally to not using genetic information in employment decisions. Recent company recognition in workforce management includes being inducted into Working Mother magazine s Hall of Fame in 2011, receiving a 100 percent rating on the 2011 Corporate Equality Index of the Human Rights Campaign, and being named a top ten company for executive women in 2012 by the National Association for Female Executives. IBM s people management has spawned five Nobel laureates, four Turing Award winners, nine National Medals of Technology, and five National Medals of Science. Famous inventions by IBM include the automated teller machine (ATM), the floppy disk, the hard disk drive, the magnetic stripe card, the relational database, the Universal Product Code (UPC), the financial swap, the SABRE airline reservation system, digital random-access memory (DRAM), and Watson artificial intelligence. Additionally, as of 2012, the company has led the annual list of patent recipients for 19 consecutive years. The IBM HR Leadership Development Program (HRLDP) builds upon the company s rich heritage and global resources, providing participants with mentorship, community, and responsibility in order to accelerate development and create future HR leaders. The standard program lasts three years, typically with a different assignment each year. Participants combine their education with practical HR experience in core HR areas such as compensation, talent, and diversity. Assignments may include projects requiring research and trend analysis, benchmarking, developing communication packages, conducting research on emerging HR issues, or project management, problem analysis, and solution implementation related to HR initiatives. While certain qualifications differ depending on whether the applicant is an undergraduate or graduate student, geographic mobility, business acumen, and leadership skills are common criteria.
EARLY CAREER HR OPPORTUNITIES (FIRMS WITHOUT DPS) Approximate HR Leadership Development Program hires per year: 6-10 worldwide HR work environment possibilities: Corporate and local offices Flex/Telecommuting Research facility Manufacturing plants Development labs Delivery Centers Program specific training & development experiences: The IBM HR Leadership Development Program focuses on career development. It is aligned with other IBM leadership developmental programs and is actively overseen by HR executives and a dedicated staff. Each participant has a dedicated executive mentor for the duration of the program, a career coach to assist with long-term planning, and functional managers who are involved in the day-to-day. The program fosters in-depth knowledge of the company s HR function and its leadership skills and competencies, as well as an understanding of the critical issues facing today s business leaders. Program particpants complete three specially designed one-year rotational assignments, which will cover corporate function, business unit, non-hr, global responsibility, and generalist duties. The opportunity to move through a number of foundational HR roles is important to building key experiences in relatively short order. Participants engage in several global, local, and virtual projects; in networking and learning events throughout the year; and every fall, all participants travel to a different international location for the program s annual Learning Event. Recent locations for the event have included Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Prague, Czech Republic; and New York, United States of America. By the time participants graduate from the program, they are required to lead one of several HRLDP development teams: Quarterly Mindshares, HR Executive Shadow Program, HRLDP Annual Learning Event, HR Intern Program and associated Speed Teams, HR Orientation for New Hires and Interns, and HR Buddy Program. HRLDP international exposure and opportunities: Global work is an integral part of life at IBM, and all participants will work on global teams. Participants also gain international exposure in completing one of their rotational assignments outside their home country. Recent international assignments have included Argentina, Brazil, China, India, Malaysia, Mexico, and the United Arab Emirates.
Typical program outcome: The HRLDP enables participants to develop key leadership competencies and acquire an executivelevel perspective on issues in order to promote business awareness. After graduating from the program, participants are prepared to take on their next challenging role and to be considered for other developmental programs available within IBM. Governance of the HRLDP: The IBM program is overseen by senior HR leadership and directed by a headquarters-based HR development organization. Country-specific program stewards further assist with operations at the local level. Distinguished perspective: IBM works with clients to develop new business designs and technical architectures that allow them to compete in the global business landscape. To attract and develop the world s leading forward thinkers and inspire world changing progress, the IBM HR function must continue to be a preeminent organization that constantly reinvents and deploys innovative employment and leadership practices. The HR Leadership Development Program is designed to accelerate the development of future leaders needed to extend IBM's legacy of HR excellence. Through elite learning opportunities, mentoring, executive exposure, and job rotations, which include global responsibility, participants prepare for dynamic leadership roles, supported throughout their career by IBM s best in class career development practices. Thomas D. Fleming Vice President HR Software Group and HR Development (Cornell BSILR 83) Early career insight: As a recruit, IBM promised me a lot. And as a participant in the HR Leadership Development Program, the company has truly delivered. IBM s rich history and myriad accolades inform my viewpoints, and its ubiquitous footprint and vast resources empower me to pursue innovation that matters, for the company and for the world. I think being an IBMer should be at the top of every HR student s post-grad employment list. Jonathan E. DeGraff HRLDP (Cornell MILR/MBA 12)