RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK – IBM denies that it is looking for a new CEO to replace Ginni Rometty, according to a report from Business Insider.
IBM spokesman Ed Barbini told the news site: “IBM is not looking for a new CEO, and any information to the contrary is absolutely and unequivocally false.”
However, Business Insider reported that Rometty is “bucking a long-standing tradition at IBM by not retiring at age 60, and her reign has been controversial.”
The news comes as news site ProPublic reports that IBM is being investigated by the federal government for alleged age discrimination related to layoffs.
The publication also reported that “we’ve heard several top executive recruiting firms have been approaching people about throwing their names in the hat, including at least two outsiders and one IBM insider, according to someone knowledgeable of the situation.”
Rometty, who also is IBM’s board chair, is the first woman to lead the company. She is 61.
Under her leadership, IBM has focused on software and such initiatives as artificial intelligence (Watson), cognitive computing and analytics at the expense of hardware.
The pivot of the company has not come without pain or layoffs and restructuring. But in its earnings report last month IBM reported growth in revenue for a second straight quarter after snapping a streak of revenue declines dating back almost six years, Business Insider noted.
Rometty replaced Sam Palmisano in 2011.
IBM operates one of its largest campuses in RTP and employs several thousand people across North Carolina.
