Katrina Troughton takes top role at IBM Australia and New Zealand

Replaces David La Rose, who has been promoted to GM, IBM partner ecosystem, based in the US

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Katrina Troughton is the first woman to be appointed as managing director of IBM Australia and New Zealand.

She replaces David La Rose, who has been promoted to general manager, IBM partner ecosystem, based in the US and reporting to Tom Rosamilia, senior vice president and chairman for IBM systems, North America.

Troughton has held local, regional and global roles in IBM for the past 28 years.

She was general manager for IBM in New Zealand in 2004 to 2009. She was most recently vice president for enterprise and commercial sales for Asia Pacific, where she revitalised the region’s skills agenda and led a team to deliver strong growth in IBM’s cloud, software and infrastructure business.

Her previous roles include vice president for IBM’s smarter workforce solutions, vice president business analytics and vice president Websphere, IBM growth markets unit.

“There is an incredibly diverse and talented team at IBM ANZ, and I look forward to continuing the work done to date in leading business and cultural transformation at IBM,” says Troughton.

“I have a great sense of pride in taking on this role and continuing to build on the trust and confidence our clients have in IBM to help them drive innovation and digital reinvention.”

Troughton is a strong advocate for programmes that promote diversity in the ICT sector and STEM courses.

In April this year, she joined IBM NZ managing director Mike Smith launch P-Tech, a programme to help prepare young Kiwis for ‘new collar’ jobs.

P-TECH, short for Pathways in Technology Early College High School, was established in 2011, and offers a pathway from high school to college completion and career readiness.

“The demand for new skills in areas like cyber, cloud and AI is why we must be pursuing many different creative ways to address the gap in both the short and long-term,” says Troughton, on the importance of bringing this global programme to New Zealand.

IBM worked with educators to develop P-TECH, in response to the growing recognition that for many emerging technology-related roles, or ‘new collar’ positions as coined by IBM CEO Ginni Rometty, flexible and relevant credentials and skills are more paramount than a university degree.