Women Who Inspire Us
Hardware

Linda Sanford

As general manager of global industries, IBM's worldwide industry-specific sales units, Linda Sanford is responsible for managing relationships with IBM's large customers, who generate about 70 percent of the company's revenue. She is currently one of the four highest-ranking women at IBM, the highest-ranking technical woman and the co-chair of IBM's Women's Task Force.

Prior to assuming her current position, Sanford was general manager of IBM's S/390 Division, which develops, manufactures and markets large-enterprise systems. During the early 1990s, she guided the division through one of the most comprehensive product transformations the computer industry has ever seen, reinventing S/390 as an open, enterprise-level server for Internet-based e-business applications.

Sanford joined IBM in 1975 as an engineer in the typewriter division. She has since held a number of executive positions at the company, including executive assistant to the chairman of the board and director of IBM Networking Systems.

Sanford has been named to the Hall of Fame of Women in Technology International and is a member of the National Association of Engineers. She has been named one of the Top 10 Innovators in the Industry by Information Week magazine, one of the 10 Most Influential Women in Technology by Working Woman magazine and one of the 25 Most Influential Working Mothers by Working Mother magazine. She is also on the board of ITT Industries.

Sanford is a graduate of St. John's University and earned an M.S. in operations research from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. She is married with two children, plays piano and coaches basketball.