Full biography
Rich Hume was appointed general manager of IBM Global Business Partners on May 1, 2008. He is responsible for leading the organization that supports IBM’s approximately 100,000 Business Partners, which drive more than 30 percent of the company’s sales revenue.
Rich brings to this new assignment a successful track record of business and operational leadership, as well as a keen understanding of distribution channel dynamics.
In his previous assignment, Rich was general manager of IBM's multi-billion dollar, x86-based System x server division. In that role, he reinvented the x86 supply chain to optimize inventory and profitability for IBM and its Business Partners.
Prior to this position, he was general manager, Operations, IBM Global Business Solutions, where he managed the global business processes that support delivery of IBM’s consulting services to more than140,000 consultants and professionals. Rich led a significant transformational effort that improved the division’s profit by $400 million.
In 2005, Rich served as general manager of ibm.com. In this role he directed its worldwide TeleWeb organization of 4,000 telephone- and Web-based sales professionals, whose mission is to deliver fast, easy access to IBM’s products and business expertise. During Rich’s tenure, ibm.com reached $10.6 billion in revenue and established new standards for lead generation across all of IBM’s sales channels.
From 2002 to 2004, Rich was vice president of IBM’s $5 billion Personal Computing Division in the Americas, responsible for sales, marketing, finance and operations. Under Rich’s leadership, the Americas division was transformed to a profitable IBM business after several years of operating at a loss. Rich was also a member of the senior leadership team that returned the global Personal Computer Division to a profit.
After joining IBM in 1984, Rich held a series of management and executive posts. He is a member of IBM’s Performance Team and Integration and Values Team, IBM’s worldwide senior leadership councils.
Rich is a Certified Public Accountant with a Bachelor of Science in accounting from Pennsylvania State University. He lives in Connecticut with his wife and three children.
May 2008