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Rometty will succeed the outgoing Samuel Palmisano (both pictured) in the post on Jan. 1, 2012. Palmisano will remain chairman of IBM's board. Rometty, who joined IBM in 1981 as a systems engineer, currently serves as svp and group executive for sales, marketing and strategy for the company.
Palmisano has been CEO of the company since 2002. Under his watch, IBM exited some commoditized businesses like PCs, printers and hard drives and has overseen expansion into China, Brazil, India and Russia, among other emerging markets.