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Who is Rodney Adkins who replaced arrested IBM exec Moffat?

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RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. – In the fallout from the arrest of top IBM executive Robert Moffat as part of an alleged insider trading ring, Big Blue placed him on leave and named Rodney Adkins to replace him on an interim basis.

Other than the fact that Adkins is the company’s highest ranking black employee and is a veteran executive who has risen through the ranks since graduating from Georgia Tech, little is known about him by most IBM (NYSE: IBM) employees. Big Blue employs some 10,000 people in the RTP area.

“IBM’s top black exec keeps low profile; workers don’t know Adkins well,” notes the Times Herald-Record newspaper in New York.

Reporter George Spohr reports for the Hudson Valley newspaper that covers IBM very closely that Adkins has been “intrigued” by the company since a recruiter approached him in high school.

“Not surprisingly, Moffat's arrest was met with cheers by employees frustrated by his aggressive cost-cutting,” Spohr reported.

“By contrast, Adkins barely resonates here. A handful of longtime or retired IBMers remember him from an early stint at IBM Poughkeepsie. Beyond that, though, few know much about their boss's new boss.”

The newspaper notes that IBM didn’t make Adkins available for an interview.

“In some way, shape or form, Adkins has touched almost every part of the company's business — printers, personal computers, servers, storage and software,” Spohr wrote. “He's said being part of the team that helped develop the iconic ThinkPad notebook computer is one of his proudest achievements.

“Yet for all of his experience, he's kept a much lower profile than Moffat, who was reportedly being groomed to replace President, Chairman and CEO Sam Palmisano.”

IBM’s PC division was based in the Research Triangle area before being sold to Lenovo in 2005.

Here is Adkin’s biography as published by IBM:

“Rod Adkins leads all of IBM’s global server and storage systems hardware and software development. He also leads the microelectronics business which includes semiconductor process technology development and semiconductor manufacturing operations for microprocessors and application specific integrated circuits used by IBM and its OEM clients.

“Mr. Adkins has held a number of product development, business operations and general management positions since joining IBM in 1981. He has experience in Printers, Personal Computers, Servers, Storage and Software. Mr. Adkins has served as General Manager for Desktop Systems in Personal Systems Group; for UNIX systems in Server Group; and for Pervasive Computing in Software Group.

“As a member of IBM's Performance and Technology Teams and the Board of Governors for the IBM Academy of Technology, Mr. Adkins helps drive IBM’s corporate and technical direction. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE), Executive Leadership Council (ELC), and National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE). He is also a member of the board for the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering (NACME), the Smithsonian Institution and Pitney Bowes, Inc.

“Mr. Adkins has been recognized as a leader in information technology – the 2007 Black Engineer of the Year, National Academy of Engineering election in 2005, Top Blacks in Technology since 2004, and Professional Achievement in Industry in 1996. In 2002, Fortune magazine named Mr. Adkins one of the 50 Most Powerful Black Executives in America. He also earned the Golden Torch Award for Lifetime Achievement in Industry from NSBE in 2001.

“Mr. Adkins earned a B.A. degree with emphasis in Physics from Rollins College as well as B.S. and M.S. degrees in Electrical Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology.”

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