International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) – Get Report said Thursday that Martin Schroeter will lead the company expected to spin off from the iconic tech group later next year.
Schroeter, a senior IBM vice president and its head of global markets, will be the CEO of the “NewCo”, the group’s ‘managed infrastructure services unit’, a legacy division that will be spun off later this year. The move, first make public in October, will help concentrate IBM’s focus on hybrid cloud growth, the company said, which have been driving group earnings under new CEO Arvind Krishna.
“Martin is a world-class leader and is uniquely qualified to drive the long-term success of the new, independent company,” said Krishna. “He has a deep understanding of the industry and has earned the trust of our clients and of the investor community.”
“Martin has the strategic vision and business judgement to realize NewCo’s enormous potential as the global leader in managed infrastructure services,” he added. “He is an inspiring, results-driven executive and the right CEO to lead NewCo through the spin-off process and beyond.”
IBM shares were marked 0.5% higher in early trading Thursday to change hands at $129.93 each, extending their six-month gain to around 10.5%.
IBM posted better-than-expected third quarter revenues of $17.6 billion in October on the back of a near 20% gain in cloud sales, which topped the $6 billion mark and were supported by the group’s 2018 acquisition of RedHat.
However, the group declined to provide a fourth quarter forecast while noting a a $2.3 billion charge its likely to book over the final three months of the year linked to the ‘NewCo’ spin-off.