Meet Christina Shim, IBM’s New Chief Sustainability Officer

Global technology leader IBM is entering a new era in sustainability as it announces the retirement of Wayne Balta, the company’s Chief Sustainability Officer.

Wayne was celebrated in Sustainability Magazine with a Lifetime of Achievement feature that explores his 40 year career at IBM.

The impact that Wayne has had in IBM and wider corporate sustainability is incredible.

In 1990, he recommended the creation of a corporate environment team – two decades later he was named a White House Champion of Change for his efforts to advance corporate environmental sustainability.

“During a remarkable 40-year career, Wayne has been the steward of IBM's commitment to environmental leadership and at the forefront of driving the company's global environmental results. He has also helped sustain the company's leadership on product safety,” said Kareem Yusuf, Ph.D., SVP, Product Management and Joanne Wright, SVP,Transformation and Operations.

“He is the architect of the global environmental management system that has ensured IBM's regulatory compliance and also enabled voluntary leadership initiatives which have garnered extensive recognition for IBM. His external eminence includes the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Association for Environmental Management, and being named a White House "Champion of Change" by President Obama.”

“At IBM, we are always looking for new ways to unlock the power of technology and transform our operations to become more efficient, increase productivity, and create a better employee and customer experience,” said Joanne Wright, Senior Vice President, Transformation and Operations at IBM. “We are excited about this announcement and we are confident that Christina’s expertise will build on top of Wayne’s legacy to advance our sustainability efforts even further.”

A new era for sustainability at IBM

Christina Shim, formerly the global head of IBM Sustainability Software, has been appointed as IBM's Chief Sustainability Officer effective May 2nd 2024. 

“Christina currently leads IBM's sustainability software business, driving growth, partnerships and innovation using AI and hybrid cloud,” said Kareem and Joanne. 

“She also serves on IBM's AI Ethics Board and ESG Executive Steering Committee. Christina has transformed and created strategy and operations for Fortune 500 firms, startups, nonprofits and government organisations globally. 

“She was recently recognised as one of Fortune's Most Powerful Women Next Gen on climate change, and has represented IBM on climate change and the intersection of AI and sustainability in the media, at COP and the World Energy Congress.”

"I’m thrilled to take on this new challenge and keep driving forward IBM's important environmental work leveraging the power of technology,” said Christina Shim, IBM’s Chief Sustainability Officer. "IBM serves as client zero for many of the technologies it brings to market, leveraging our own solutions and innovations to make a lasting, positive impact through sustainability and in our business. From minimising climate-related risks to creating and implementing industry solutions that harness the power of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and hybrid cloud, we will create more pathways to better conserve natural resources and reduce environmental impact."

Wayne’s time in the role was undeniably impactful, and we’re excited to see what is next for the technology giant under Christina’s leadership. 

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