Leaders from IBM Business Partner firms around the world recently attended the first-ever IBM Business Partner Leadership Conference in Los Angeles.
Approximately 1,000 top Business Partner executives from nearly 60 countries met in Los Angeles for the invitation-only conference, which also brought together IBM senior-level executives, and recognized leaders from across business and industry, renowned academics, and many others.
Conference highlights
The spotlight during the two-and-a-half-day conference was on growth prospects and leadership opportunities created by recent marketplace shifts. Three key opportunity areas were highlighted in content across the three days and in announcements -- Growth markets, the new enterprise data center, and midmarket innovation.
Important announcements included the appointment of the new general manager for IBM Global Business Partners, Rich Hume, replacing Ravi Marwaha, who is retiring from IBM after a 40 year career.
Each day, general sessions spotlighted a broad theme that was reinforced in breakout sessions hosted by geographies and business units. Click here to access webcasts and audiocasts of these sessions.
Seizing new high-growth opportunities
Day one highlighted key global trends, requirements for 21st century leadership, and current market disruptions and transformations. A panel of high-growth Business Partners from across the globe shared their unique challenges and insights.
Innovation in a globally integrated economy
The next phase of globalization took center stage on day two. IBM Chairman and CEO Sam Palmisano spoke about innovation opportunities in a globally integrated economy, and Eric Schmidt, chairman and CEO of Google, addressed the future of the Web, cloud computing and innovation.
A discussion about the CIO as strategic partner and leader was hosted along with a panel discussion centered on the client point of view and IT trends. CIOs from a variety of client companies provided insight into the CIO perspective.
The new IT landscape
The final day of the conference hosted Nick Donofrio, IBM executive vice president, Innovation and Technology. He discussed innovating in the 21st century. Following this, the focus turned to green IT innovation with a panel that included executives from IBM Business Partner firms who received IBM Beacon Awards for their green IT innovations.
In the news
Several announcements noteworthy to Business Partners were made at the conference, including:
Moreover, conference coverage in the media was extensive and included articles in publications from around the world. A sampling of coverage includes:
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