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Larry Hirst, Chairman, IBM Europe, Middle East and Africa. and Chair, e-skills UK

Larry Hirst is the Chairman of IBM Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), and was appointed to this position on April 1, 2008. He is responsible for representing IBM to the European Commission and to external authorities on issues of international public policy and business regulation. To that end, he leads and co-ordinates the company's activities across the region in such areas as governmental programmes, environmental affairs, university relations, corporate citizenship and corporate affairs, standards development, intellectual property reform, system accessibility, and venture capital relations.

Prior to taking up this position, Mr Hirst was the General Manager for IBM's operations in the UK, Ireland, the Netherlands and South Africa, responsible for the overall business strategy, sales, marketing, community programmes and a workforce of approximately 27,000 employees.

Larry began his career at IBM in 1977 in London as a sales trainee. Since then, he has held a series of leadership positions including the role of the Vice President of the Financial Services Sector for EMEA (2000-2001) and being the first non-American to fill the position of the Executive Assistant to the IBM Chairman based in the US, from 1992-1993. During this year, the Chairmanship of IBM passed from John F. Akers to Louis V. Gerstner, Jr.

In addition to his IBM responsibilities, Larry has held the role of Chairman of e-skills UK since 2004, the Sector Skills Council for IT, Telecoms and Contact Centres. This organisation unites employers, educators and government on a common, employer-led agenda for skills-improvement in the UK.

In 2006, he was appointed Chairman of the 'Transition to Teaching' Steering Committee by the Secretary of State for Education. This committee was set up to enable employees with science and mathematics degrees to enter the teaching profession as a second career and to help fill skills gaps within the teaching profession, bringing applied science, technology, engineering and maths experience into the classroom. In the same year, Larry was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE), in recognition of his services to the IT industry.

In 2007, Larry was appointed Commissioner for the UK Government’s Commission for Employment and Skills. This Commission will play a central role in raising the UK's skills base, improving productivity and competitiveness, increasing employment and making a contribution to a fairer society.

This year, Larry was asked to take up the role of Chairman of the UK Trade and Investment Executive Board responsible for driving the UK's trade and investments objectives in the telecommunications and IT technology sectors.

Larry graduated in Mathematics from Hull University, England. He is British, born in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire and is married to Alison. They have two children, a daughter Anna and son Adam.

Last modified: 24 Jul 2008