Transforming Commerce to Lead in the Cognitive Era - Richard Hearn, President of Razorfish, joins IBM to lead Commerce sales

The world of Commerce is constantly changing, as new technologies, discoveries and consumer preferences are driving disruption and innovation. As consumers, we are so much better informed. We’re faster, more efficient, targeted and relevant.Oh, yeah, we are also more demanding! One bad experience can turn us from a loyalist to a defector. Now, more than ever, it is essential for enterprises to position themselves for the future of commerce where new cognitive technologies will allow businesses to deliver highly engaging customer experiences that are personalized on a level that was previously unimaginable. Commerce is a veritable growth market alive with opportunities and this is IBM's time to capitalize on them.   To help our clients grow their business amidst this constant change, IBM is continuing to restlessly reinvent our Commerce portfolio.  We are infusing cognitive technologies into our offerings to help practitioners - from the marketer and merchandiser to the e-commerce professional -  deliver exceptional experiences for their clients. It's this drive to innovate and deliver the   most comprehensive solution in the market today that fuels us and it's not going unnoticed:

• Gartner recently named IBM a top provider digital commerce solutions scoring the highest among 19 vendors in 4 of the 5 use cases identified as critical by their clients.
• According to a report from Nucleus Research, IBM delivers $15.82 return on investment (ROI) for every dollar spent on its marketing, sales, merchandising and analytics offerings, which today are being used by leading brands such as ING Direct, The Home Shopping Network (HSN), Standard Life and Yoox Net-a-Porter, to meet the personalized, real-time needs of their customers.

As part of IBM's continuous transformation, it is imperative to have the right talent to lead our business into the Cognitive era.  So I am delighted to announce that Richard Hearn is joining IBM as our WW Commerce Sales Leader. Most recently President of Razorfish, a Publicis Groupe company, Richard comes to IBM with a wealth of leadership experience in Commerce, software, strategy, marketing, sales, consulting, analytics and business development. His entrepreneurial spirit, reputation for excellence and innovative style will bring a fresh perspective to our strategic direction, sales enablement and growth opportunities. With his strong background in creating and leading successful startups and his laser client focus, I am confident Richard will be a game changer in our Commerce space, as well as strengthening our sales presence overall in the marketplace. I am personally very excited about Richard joining IBM and our Commerce team as we continue to bring expert in-the-moment advice, insights and recommendations our clients need to make better decisions at each step in the brand journey.

You can read Richard's post about his new role on his blog  http://ibm.biz/BdrXLB).