Pursuing Growth and Innovation

Delivering sustained revenue growth in today’s economy is exceptionally difficult. Most companies struggle to meet their growth objectives. Yet a select few are breaking out of the commodity trap and executing a winning formula for growth and innovation. Where are the big winners focusing their energies? What common attributes do they share? What key trends are keeping business leaders up at night? And why are forward-thinking companies placing a renewed emphasis on the relationship between business and academia?

These are some of the issues IBM Senior Vice President Linda Sanford will address in her keynote presentation, based on her observations working with IBM customers in many industries around the world as well as her experience leading IBM’s internal transformation to an on demand business.

As IBM’s Senior Vice President, Enterprise On Demand Transformation & Information Technology, Linda 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.

During her distinguished career at IBM, Linda has held various senior leadership roles, including heading up the IBM Storage Systems Group, Global Industries and guiding 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.

Linda is a member of the Women in Technology International Hall of Fame and the National Association of Engineers. 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.

Linda serves on the Board of Directors of ITT Industries, St. John's University, and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. She also serves on the Board of Directors of the Partnership for New York City, The Business Council of New York State, Inc., and the Westchester Arts Council.

The Long Island native is a graduate of St. John's University and earned an M.S. in Operations Research from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.