IBM Almost Doubles New CEO Rometty’s Salary to $1.5 Million

International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) almost doubled the salary of Virginia “Ginni” Rometty after promoting her as the chief executive officer of the world’s largest computer-services provider at the start of the year.

Rometty, 54, will receive a salary of $1.5 million this year, up from $800,000 last year, the Armonk, New York-based company said today in a regulatory filing. Her cash-incentive target for 2012 is $3.5 million, compared with $1.47 million she received for 2011.

Rometty become the first female CEO in the company’s 100- year history. She inherits a five-year plan that includes boosting software to half of IBM’s earnings, with a focus on programs that help businesses analyze and project trends, as well as on cloud computing and emerging markets.

Rometty’s predecessor, Samuel Palmisano, got a bonus of $6.5 million for 2011, IBM said.

IBM rose 1.1 percent to $193.64 at the close in New York. The shares reached a record in 2011 and advanced 25 percent for the year.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ville Heiskanen in New York at vheiskanen@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Ville Heiskanen at vheiskanen@bloomberg.net

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Virginia "Ginni" Rometty

Graham Carlow/IBM via Bloomberg

Virginia "Ginni" Rometty, seen here as senior vice president and group executive for sales at International Business Machines Corp.

Virginia "Ginni" Rometty, seen here as senior vice president and group executive for sales at International Business Machines Corp. Photographer: Graham Carlow/IBM via Bloomberg