IBM CEO Ginni Rometty legt samenwerking met Trump uit
IBM ceo Ginni Rometty heeft in een brief aan haar werknemers de samenwerking met president Trump uitgelegd. De tekst van de brief is in handen gekomen van TechCrunch. De IBM ceo schrijft aan de de medewerkers dat Trump de regel is, niet de uitzondering. Het bedrijf heeft verder altijd overleg gehad met Amerikaanse leiders sinds het bestaat.
Trump is binnen IBM niet populair bij een aantal medewerkers, daarvan tekenden 2000 mensen een petitie tegen de samenwerking met Trump. Zij zien de samenwerking als een afwijking van de waarden van diversiteit en integratie van het bedrijf.
Rometty schrijft: "IBM leiders zijn rechtstreeks betrokken zijn bij elke Amerikaanse president sinds Woodrow Wilson. Net als mijn voorgangers, ben ik uitgenodigd op deze besprekingen vanwege het vertrouwde perspectief die IBM biedt bij het oplossen van problemen.". Rometty heeft Trump eerder benaderd via een open brief sinds hij werd gekozen als president van de VS.
In een bijeenkomst met Trump zei Rometty dat er een breed scala aan onderwerpen werden besproken, waaronder cyberveiligheid, banen (waaronder meer vrouwen in de beroepsbevolking) en de recente executive order die van van invloed op immigratie en reizen (met betrekking op zeven landen waar veel moslims wonen, red.).
Naast IBM is ook Oracle betrokken als adviseur voor de Trump administratie. Andere grote techbedrijven zijn minder te spreken over Trump en zijn tegen het inreisverbod. Uber CEO Kalanick stapte na kritiek uit adviesraad Trump. Veel grote tech bedrijven in de VS zeggen afhankelijk te zijn van talent uit het buitenland.
Hieronder de tekst van de brief:
Team,
I’m writing you from the United Arab Emirates, where I’ve been meeting with leaders from business, academia and government. Tomorrow I will have similar discussions with leaders in South Africa. Last month I met with heads of state from European and Asian nations.
And last Friday, as many of you know, I met with President Trump. IBM leaders have been engaging directly with every U.S. president since Woodrow Wilson, and this was my ninth such meeting since becoming CEO. Like my predecessors, I’m invited to these discussions because of the trusted perspective IBM offers in solving problems.
At the White House, we discussed a wide range of issues – from smarter infrastructure investments, to increasing the number of women in the workforce, to cybersecurity, to jobs. And, of course, we spoke about the president’s recent executive order affecting immigration and travel.
Into this discussion I brought IBM’s perspective as a truly global company. We employ people serving clients in more than 170 countries, and we embrace people of all faiths and backgrounds. We would not be the company we are today without the benefit of immigration and the flow of talent across all our markets. From this great diversity, we draw strength as a company.
Because we are so large and so global, our perspective is also special. IBMers and their families have been touched by terrorist attacks, from New York, to Paris, to the skies over Egypt. And IBMers have been touched, too, by the executive order put in place two weeks ago. In every case, my first priority has been to support and care for the employees and families most directly affected.
As elected leaders make decisions on national policy, we seek to provide ideas and solutions grounded in our values and technological expertise. Both. So on Friday, I discussed with the President and the Secretary of Homeland Security ways that advanced technology could address national security imperatives while also permitting lawful immigration and travel. I explained that this is not an either/or choice. Our points were heard, and we will continue to engage to find solutions that align with our values.
Some have suggested that we should not engage with the U.S. administration. I disagree. Our experience has taught us that engagement – reaching out, listening and having authentic dialogue – is the best path to good outcomes. IBM does not espouse a partisan or political point of view. Alone among our major competitors, we do not make political contributions, and we do not endorse candidates for office. We never have.
But if IBM does not have politics, it does have values. IBMers believe in helping our clients succeed beyond even their own expectations; in innovation that matters to the world; in building relationships based on trust and personal responsibility. And we have always led the world of business in diversity, inclusion and tolerance. Inspired by those values and that legacy, I offer every government leader with whom I engage innovative ideas to address national challenges.
This is what we do. It has been our ethos for more than a century. And it’s why so many of us chose to become IBMers. Where others see the unsolvable, we see solutions. I could not be more proud of what you do every day to live our Values and to make the world a better place. It is what makes IBM, IBM.
Ginni Rometty
Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer
