Arvind Krishna to replace Ginni Rometty as IBM's CEO

Krishna was the principal architect of the IBM's $34 billion Red Hat acquisition last year

American IT giant IBM has named Arvind Krishna as its next CEO, replacing long-time CEO Virginia Rometty.

Mr. Krishna, 57, will take over the new role on 6 April, IBM said in a statement.

He joined the company in 1990, and currently serves as the Senior Vice President, spearheading IBM Cloud, IBM Research and the Cognitive Applications business. He was also the principal architect of the IBM ' s $34 billion Red Hat acquisition last year. The deal, which was completed in July, was IBM's biggest acquisition in its 108-year history.

Arvind currently leads the Cloud unit ' s strategy, product design, development, marketing and sales and service. He also guides the company ' s strategy in core and evolving technologies, including cloud services, data-driven solutions, quantum computing, AI, blockchain and nanotechnology.

Experts expect IBM to pursue more acquisitions in the cloud and analytics space under Krishna ' s leadership.

"I am thrilled and humbled to be elected as the next Chief Executive Officer of IBM, and appreciate the confidence that Ginni and the Board have placed in me," Krishna said.

Rometty described Krishna as a "brilliant technologist" and a "superb operational leader" who is "well-positioned" to guide the company into the cloud and cognitive era.

According to Rometty, he has played an important role in developing crucial technologies at IBM and is "able to win today while building the business of tomorrow."

Rometty, 62, will continue as IBM ' s executive chairman before retiring at the end of the year, IBM said.

She has been IBM's president and CEO since 2012. She replaced Sam Palmisano to become the company ' s CEO on 1 January 2012.

Rometty made some bold changes during her tenure as IBM CEO to reposition the company for the future. She invested in high-value segments in information technology market and also optimised the company's portfolio.

IBM credits Rometty for leading "the successful integration of PricewaterhouseCoopers Consulting, creating a global team of more than 100,000 business consultants and services experts."

Rometty will leave the company on a recent high note as IBM reported its first revenue growth in six quarters.

IBM has also named Jim Whitehurst, Red Hat ' s former CEO, as IBM ' s next president. Wall Street analysts had been earlier speculating Whitehurst to be in the running for the top job.

"Jim is also a seasoned leader who has positioned Red Hat as the world's leading provider of open source enterprise IT software solutions and services," Rometty said.

"In Arvind and Jim, the Board has elected a proven technical and business-savvy leadership team," she added.