Rusine Mitchell-Sinclair, IBM’s top executive in North Carolina, is retiring and will become chief executive officer of a merging Girl Scouts organization.

Mitchell-Sinclair will be the chief executive officer of Girl Scouts – North Carolina Coastal Pines. The group is the result of the Girl Scout Council of Coastal Carolina and Pines of Carolina Girl Scout Council. The merger is effective Oct. 1.

In a notice sent to IBM employees, IBM said Mitchell-Sinclair would retire from the company as of Aug. 1. In addition to senior state executive for North Carolina, she also was vice president of strategy and implementation for IBM IT Global Delivery.

“This opportunity at Girl Scouts – North Carolina Coastal Pines allows me to bring my experiences as an IBM executive to thousands of girls across North Carolina,” Mitchell-Sinclair said in a statement.

A longtime IBM executive, Mitchell-Sinclair took the top North Carolina spot with Big Blue in 2005. IBM employs some 11,000 around the Triangle.

Before joining IBM, Mitchell-Sinclair worked at Mobile Corporation and Rolm Corporation. She joined IBM when it acquired Rolm.

Mitchell-Sinclair moved to RTP in 1996 when she was named vice president for IBM Global Services. In 2000, she was named general manager for e-business hosting services in the Americas. In 2003 she was named vice president of marketing and strategy for Global Services in the Americas.

“IBM’s representation in North Carolina, has always been first rate, and Rusine’s tenure more than lived up to that tradition of leadership,” said Stanley Litow, vice president for Corporate Citizenship & Corporate Affairs at IBM, in the note sent to employees. “She balanced her committment to both IBM and to the community in extraordinary fashion and will be sorely missed. But we look forward to continuing working with her in her new capacity as CEO of the Girl Scouts—North Carolina Coastal Pines and finding someone with her sensitivity, skills and talents to carry on the IBM legacy.”

Mitchell-Sinclair was the first woman to serve as IBM’s top executive in North Carolina. She has worked at IBM for 26 years. She also has been a Girl Scout, a volunteer for the organization, a board member and an officer.

The Girl Scouts organization will include more than 32,000 girls and 10,00 adults across central and eastern North Carolina.