|
 By
Linda Sanford, IBM Senior Vice
President, Enterprise On Demand
Transformation & Information
Technology
Click
here
to view lecture poster (.pdf)
Video:
IBM SVP Linda Sanford on Engineering
Systems Solutions to Real World
Challenges
Click
here
to view MITWorld video of this
lecture.
About
the Series:
Today’s
increasingly complex world requires
engineers to innovate as never
before. To have real impact,
whether within a firm or society
as a whole, engineers must not
only develop technologically
superior solutions, but also
know how to think systemically
and lead strategically.
In the 21st century, mastery
of a wide range of interdisciplinary
skills is needed to create effective,
resilient solutions to complex
problems. Today’s engineers
must understand how to work
individually and on teams. They
must recognize critical factors
that emerge along technical,
organizational, and societal
boundaries that can enable or
preclude technological success.
Moreover, they must apply careful
analysis not only at the product
level, but also within the technical
and managerial context in which
engineering and design challenges
occur.
Engineering Systems Solutions
to Real World Challenges
is a seminar series co-sponsored
by IBM and MIT’s Engineering
Systems Division. Each seminar
will show how today’s
leaders and practitioners are
using engineering systems and
services sciences approaches
to address complex problems.
Drawing from real-life examples,
the series will explain how
these approaches were applied
at IBM and other organizations,
and demonstrate how to achieve
breakthrough solutions that
deliver sustained value to enterprises
and society as a whole.
About
the Lecture:
In the inaugural seminar to
this series, Linda Sanford,
IBM Senior Vice President, Enterprise
On Demand Transformation &
Information Technology, will
present examples of how IBM
solved complex business problems
in its own transformation and
used these learnings to deliver
sustained value to clients,
employees and society.
About
the Speaker:
Linda
Sanford leads the strategy for
IBM’s internal transformation
to the industry’s premier
on demand business. In this
role, Ms. Sanford is responsible
for working across IBM to transform
core business processes, create
an IT infrastructure to support
those processes, and help create
a culture that recognizes the
value that on demand leadership
can bring to IBM.
Previously
Ms. Sanford was Senior Vice
President & Group Executive,
IBM Storage Systems Group, where
she helped take IBM from fifth
place in storage market share
to second in two years. Prior
to assuming that position, Ms.
Sanford headed IBM Global Industries,
the organization that manages
relationships with IBM's largest
customers worldwide and is responsible
for generating almost 70 percent
of IBM's revenue.
Before
that, Ms. Sanford was General
Manager of IBM's S/390 Division,
which develops, manufactures
and markets large-enterprise
systems. During the early 1990s,
she guided the S/390 Division
through one of the most comprehensive
product transformations the
computer industry has ever seen,
reinventing S/390 as an open,
enterprise-level server.
One
of the highest-ranking women
at IBM, Ms. Sanford is a member
of the Women in Technology International
Hall of Fame and the National
Academy of Engineering. She
has been named one of the 50
Most Influential Women in Business
by Fortune Magazine, one of
the Top Ten Innovators in the
Technology Industry by Information
Week Magazine, and one of the
Ten Most Influential Women in
Technology by Working Woman
Magazine.
Ms.
Sanford is the chairman of The
Business Council of New York
State, Inc. She serves on the
Board of Directors of the Partnership
for New York City, ITT Industries,
St. John's University, and Rensselaer
Polytechnic Institute.
Ms.
Sanford co-authored “Let
Go To Grow: Escaping the Commodity
Trap” a book that details
how successful companies are
pursuing strategies to drive
long-term growth and innovation.
The book was published by Prentice
Hall in December 2005.
A
graduate of St. John's University,
Ms. Sanford earned an M.S. in
Operations Research from Rensselaer
Polytechnic Institute.
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