IBM names new CEO

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Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2002 | 11:03 a.m.

NEW YORK -- IBM Corp.'s board of directors today selected the company's president and chief operating officer, Samuel J. Palmisano, to replace Louis V. Gerstner as chief executive of the technology giant.

The succession takes effect March 1. Gerstner will remain chairman through the end of 2002.

Palmisano, a longtime IBM employee who has headed several departments before taking over the company's day-to-day operations in September 2000, takes the reins after a dramatic, Gerstner-led turnaround in IBM's fortunes.

Gerstner, 59, is widely credited with transforming IBM from a flagging computer maker into a nimble, competitive global enterprise focusing on services and technology.