Top IBM exec in NC says company remains committed to RTP

Fran O’Sullivan is the face of IBM in North Carolina.

At the end of August, O’Sullivan was named the technology giant’s senior state executive. She succeeded Bob Greenberg, who retired.

In her new position, O’Sullivan – a veteran of 30 years at the company despite her youthful appearance – is the chief government and community liaison for IBM offices across the state. That includes, most importantly, its Research Triangle Park campus, which employs several thousand workers and is the company’s largest site in North America.

O’Sullivan also delves into employee relations as well.

Her new job “isn’t a business role per se,” O’Sullivan, 57, said in a recent interview. “It is, how do we make sure that our site is a great place to work, that we have the right culture?”

But O’Sullivan has a business role, too. She retained what she jokingly refers to as her “day job” as general manager for IBM systems strategy and operations in addition to her new role.

Her resume includes a stint in charge of IBM’s global supply chain and leadership of the company’s PC business until it was acquired by Lenovo in 2005. Following that deal, she shifted to Lenovo as senior vice president of the product group responsible for ThinkPad laptops and Think brand PCs before rejoining IBM in 2010.

The history of RTP is intertwined with IBM, which celebrated its 50th anniversary here with a series of internal events last month. Indeed, RTP didn’t really get off the ground until IBM announced it would occupy a 600,000-square-foot facility here.

But today IBM has found it necessary to reinvent itself in the face of 14 consecutive quarters of declining revenue. It’s increasingly focused on what it sees as high-growth areas: business analytics, cloud computing, mobile services and security.

At the same time, a series of company-wide layoffs, plus the shift of 1,300 workers when Lenovo acquired a line of IBM servers, has depleted the RTP workforce to an unknown degree. IBM declines to disclose employee head counts at specific sites.

O’Sullivan spoke with staff reporter David Ranii at the company’s RTP campus, where it currently is remaking two floors of offices – open spaces, no assigned seating – and is anticipating further renovations. The following excerpts from her interview have been edited for space and clarity.

On IBM’s commitment to RTP: “We’re as committed as you can be. We would not be the largest site (in North America and be) bringing in new hires if we weren’t committed to this site.

“One thing that people don’t realize is ... 23 percent of our employee population has less than five years with IBM right here in Research Triangle Park.

“One of the great things about our Research Triangle Park campus, every single unit of IBM has a presence here ... When our clients are using (artificial intelligence computer system) Watson in the cloud, did you know it’s right here in RTP?

“Now, I’m also a big believer on the accountability side. If we don’t deliver at this site on an executed strategy, then we don’t deserve to be here.”

On how RTP measures up on the accountability ledger: “I think we’re doing extremely well.”

On how the reinvention of IBM is affecting RTP: “Every unit of IBM has a presence here in RTP, so as IBM goes through the transformation, RTP goes through the transformation.

“One of the big strengths, I think, of IBM is the importance put on skill development. ... That includes reskilling. But not all employees would necessarily want to reskill, want to retool. As a business, you have to make sure that you have the skills you need where you need them. As other areas would go down, then do you want to reskill or you need to find something else to do. I don’t think that’s different than anywhere, right?”

On IBM’s role in innovation: “IBM is a high-tech company, No. 1 in patents for 22 years. We spend a lot on R&D – $300 million right here in the state of North Carolina. I made a few calls to make sure that local elected officials understand the importance of R&D to companies like IBM.”

Her first job at IBM: “I joined IBM in 1980 right out of college. At the time, IBM had a federal systems division, so I was working on the space shuttle program in Cape Kennedy, Fla. I didn’t actually even get an IBM badge. I had a NASA badge.”

On IBM’s 50th anniversary celebration in RTP: “There was great spirit and pride ... We had a couple of IBMers come forward. They moved here 50 years ago when their fathers were first moved to bring up the RTP site. They had grown up here and were lucky, in their mind, to get a job at IBM. And now they’re close to retirement themselves.”

This story was originally published November 7, 2015 at 1:00 PM with the headline "Top IBM exec in NC says company remains committed to RTP."