Harriet Green

Harriet Green
Harriet Green
Born	December 12, 1961 (age 64); Cheltenham, England
Occupation	Business executive
Years active	1980s–present
Known for	CEO of Thomas Cook Group (2012–2014), Chairman and CEO of IBM Asia Pacific, head of IBM Watson Internet of Things division

Harriet Green (born 12 December 1961) is a British executive known for her leadership roles, including serving as chairman and CEO of IBM Asia Pacific. She also previously directed IBM’s Internet of Things, customer engagement, and education sectors.

From July 2012 until November 2014, she held the position of CEO at the Thomas Cook Group.

Early life

Green was born in Cheltenham, England, and raised in Shipton, Gloucestershire. She attended Westwood's Grammar School before earning a bachelor's degree in medieval history from King's College London in 1983. Subsequently, she completed studies in Business Psychology at the London School of Economics, graduating in 1985.

Career

Her professional journey began within the electronic components sector across Europe, the United States, and Asia. Between 2002 and 2006, she acted as managing director of Macro Group and president of Arrow Electronics Asia/Pacific. Following this, from 2006 to 2012, Green served as CEO of Premier Farnell, a global distributor of electronic components.

In July 2012, Green assumed the role of CEO at Thomas Cook Group, taking over from Manny Fontenla-Novoa. Notably, she secured this appointment by directly contacting chairman Frank Meysman. During her tenure, she significantly increased Thomas Cook’s market capitalization from £148 million to over £2 billion, with the company’s share price appreciating by 829%.

Green’s departure from Thomas Cook was sudden in November 2014, with COO Peter Fankhauser succeeding her. The announcement led to a decline in the company’s shares exceeding £350 million in value. In June 2015, she donated £1.9 million from her £5.7 million bonus to a charity selected by the family of two children who tragically died on a Thomas Cook holiday prior to her leadership.

A Parliamentary Select Committee report in 2019 suggested that Thomas Cook’s turnaround might have continued if Green had been permitted to fully execute her transformation plan.

In December 2015, IBM appointed Green as the head of its Watson Internet of Things division. Operating out of Armonk, New York, she led IBM’s Watson Customer Engagement, Internet of Things, and Education units with an emphasis on driving growth through innovation.

Green completed a nine-year term as a non-executive director at BAE Systems. Since 2017, she has been consistently featured on the "HERoes Women Role Model List - Champions of Women in Business" for three consecutive years.

Her accolades include receiving the Women in Technology Institute award in 2016 and induction into its Hall of Fame. In 2017, Fast Company recognized her among the 100 Most Creative People in Business for her contributions to advancing IBM Watson’s commercial applications.

In February 2019, Green joined the board of the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), serving until January 2021. That year she was ranked #30 on Fortune’s Most Powerful Women International List and was acknowledged as both a LinkedIn Influencer and a LinkedIn Top Voice in 2020.

Since 2015, Green has been a member of the King's Business School Advisory Board and was appointed executive chair of Mission Beyond in 2020.

Personal life

She lives in Summertown, Oxford. In 2004, she wed Graham Clarkson in Oxfordshire, and together they have two grown children.

Green received an OBE during the 2010 Birthday Honours. She is a practitioner of hatha yoga and is an avid reader, considering literature a means to unwind from the demands of her career. Noted for typically sleeping just about four hours each night, she was recognized in February 2013 by Woman's Hour on BBC Radio 4 as one of the 100 most influential women in the United Kingdom.

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