Full biography
Harriet Pearson is Vice President, Security Counsel & Chief Privacy Officer at IBM. Responsible for information policy and practices affecting over 380,000 employees and thousands of clients, she leads a global team of legal, data protection and technical professionals at IBM who address privacy and data security in the leadership manner expected of this global brand.
She also leads IBM’s global engagement in public policy and industry initiatives relative to cybersecurity, data security and privacy. She serves on the executive committee of the Center for Information Policy Leadership; the board of the International Association of Privacy Professionals; the CSIS Commission on Cybersecurity for the 44th Presidency; and the Steering Committee of the Data Security Council of India.
As part of a 5-person multi-disciplinary global executive team, Harriet works directly with IBM’s management in South Africa to drive strategic projects in support of the company’s growth and leadership in that country and Sub Saharan Africa.
Harriet is a practicing attorney and Certified Information Privacy Professional with executive leadership experience in Law, Compliance, Human Resources, Communications and Public Policy Issue Management. She graduated with honors from the UCLA School of Law (Order of the Coif) and from Princeton University (B.S.E. Geological Engineering). Before joining IBM in 1993, she practiced law in a Washington, D.C. law firm and briefly worked for Shell Oil on offshore production platforms in the Gulf of Mexico.
In 2007 Harriet was recognized with the Vanguard Award, which is given annually by the IAPP to the single professional who exemplifies leadership and innovation in the field of privacy. IBM itself has been recognized as the top “Most Trusted for Privacy” business-to-business company in the U.S. and Canada several times by the TRUSTe/Ponemon independent survey of consumers.
Outside of IBM, Harriet teaches a graduate seminar on Security, Privacy & Trust at Georgetown University and sings with the Potomac Harmony Chorus. She currently serves on the Chorus board and on the board of directors for an American K-thru-college private school located in Thessaloniki, Greece.
A first-generation American, Harriet speaks Greek fluently. She lives with her family in the Washington, D.C. area.
Updated May 2009
