In the new role, Dr Hodson will be responsible for business operations, driving revenue growth, client satisfaction and employee engagement in the UK and Ireland.
She succeeds Sreeram Visvanathan, who has stepped down from the position following a 22-year tenure.
“Nicola is an accomplished leader with an enviable wealth of senior-level experience in the IT industry and a deep understanding of challenges facing the C-suite," said Ana Paula Assis, chair and general manager of IBM Europe, Middle East and Africa.
"The UK and Ireland business is a critical growth and innovation engine for IBM and her strong track record in leading change will help drive sustained growth for our clients and our business.”
She joins from Microsoft where she most recently served as Microsoft’s vice president of customer & partner solutions, transformation, and a member of its global leadership team for commercial business.
She joined Microsoft in 2008 where she led the UK public sector business, before being promoted four years later to the role of UK chief operating officer.
“IBM has incredible relevance in the market and I am excited to lead the UK and Ireland business and to work with such a talented team,” added Dr Hodson.
“This is a make-or-break time for all companies and organisations as they move at pace to transform, to adopt new technologies and business models and to deliver on their sustainability ambitions. IBM technology and consulting capabilities in hybrid cloud and AI are helping clients to accelerate their critical transformation journeys.”
In addition, Dr Hodson is deputy president of the trade association, techUK. She previously worked in the IT and business services division of Siemens, at CSC (now DXC) and as a management consultant for EY.
She was also a non-executive director at Ofgem and a board member at the UK Council for Child Internet Safety and at (Child Exploitation and Online Protection Command) CEOP.
