IBM announced that Nicola Hodson has been named Chief Executive, IBM in the UK and Ireland. Dr. Hodson succeeds Sreeram Visvanathan, who is leaving IBM following a 22-year career. Dr. Hodson joins from Microsoft and brings deep technology industry expertise, as well as extensive experience in business and digital transformation, sales and IT in leading global companies.

She will be responsible for business operations, driving revenue growth, client satisfaction and employee engagement in the UK and Ireland. Prior to her appointment, Dr. Hodson was most recently Microsoft's Vice President of Customer Partner Solutions, Transformation, and a member of its global leadership team for commercial business. She joined Microsoft in 2008 to lead its UK Public Sector business, moving four years later to become the company's UK Chief Operating Officer.

Dr. Hodson is Deputy President of techUK, the trade association. She formerly worked in the IT and business services division of Siemens, at CSC (now DXC) and as a management consultant for EY. She was a non-executive director at energy regulator Ofgem and a board member at the UK Council for Child Internet Safety and at CEOP, the Child Exploitation and Online Protection group in the UK.