Danny Sabbah has over 40 years’ experience as a software professional with experience in software research and software development. He is experienced in managing organizations ranging from 5 to 25,000 to deliver products or set research directions for multi-billion dollar businesses.
As CTO and General Manager of IBM Cloud starting in 2012 until he retired in 2015, Danny led the Architecture and direction for IBM’s Cloud and Next Gen Initiatives. He was responsible for all Opens Source initiatives, standards, and transformation of IBM development in delivering Hybrid Cloud. While holding this position, he was also a member of IBM’s technology board (called Technology Team) while also acting as an Advisor to IBM’s Chairman and CEO.
Prior to 2012, Danny was the General Manager of IBM’s Tivoli division beginning in 2010. Responsible for IBM’s Systems Management Software business (3+ Billion dollars), he managed all aspects of the business including sales, finance, marketing, product management, development, and support on a global basis. Growing revenue 8 quarters in a row, Danny helped acquire numerous firms to bolster and round out the portfolio, revamped strategic direction to be more in line with Web-centric and Cloud market directions, and was an active member of IBM’s Senior Management Team.
As general manager of Rational Software, IBM Software Group, in 2005, Danny led IBM’s efforts to advance the discipline of software development. Danny mobilized more than 2,500 Rational Software employees to help organizations govern the creation of software and systems. In today’s world, software development is moving to the forefront of business differentiation along with other key business processes within organizations of many sizes, across many industries, globally.
A developer at heart and in practice for almost 30 years, a founder of IBM’s open source policy and Eclipse, Danny understands that development teams need to be empowered to establish and manage chains of responsibility, authority, and communication.
The evolving industry and open source communities have revealed a need for tools that facilitate collaborative development across locations, and Danny led Rational Software, in collaboration with IBM Research, in the charge to create technology that improves collaboration and governance across the development lifecycle.
Before joining the Rational division in April 2005, Danny served as chief technology officer for IBM Software Group, overseeing strategic direction of the group’s more than 22,000 developers across 57 research and development centers, and leading the evolution of IBM’s middleware technology and architecture across all software brands including Rational, WebSphere, Information Management, Workplace, Portal and Collaboration Software (WPLC) and Tivoli. In the late 1990s, Danny led the team that delivered the IBM WebSphere Web Application Server and was the vice president of development for the WebSphere brand. While in this role, Danny was responsible for the architecture and strategy for IBM’s application development tools, as well as IBM’s Web and business integration software.
Danny began his IBM career in 1974, focusing on telecommunications software (VTAM) in Kingston, New York. He received his Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Rochester in 1981, specializing in artificial intelligence and computer vision. After earning his degree, Danny returned to the IBM Research division, where he was responsible for artificial intelligence research, then programming languages, and finally for software technology.
Today, Danny does consulting work through GLG, mostly on cloud and future IT directions, for several different companies. In addition, he is working on a book with a colleague on future Information Technology issues and the intersection of Tech disruption and existing business/business models.