Robert (Bob) Savage Travels from NSW
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Robert (Bob) Savage's Biography
Robert Savage is recognised as one of
Australia's most authoritative business leaders. Robert Savage is the
former CEO of IBM Australia, Chairman of David Jones, Chairman &
Independent Director of Perpertual Trustees, a Board Member of Fairfax Media
and an Advisory Committee Member of the Sydney Faculty of Economics and
Business. In addition, he has held directorships in Smorgan Steel Group Limited
(April 2000 to August 2007) and Mincom Limited (Chairman) (May 2002
to May 2007).
As a senior executive in Australia and the
Asian region and a non-executive director and chairman across a wide range of
Australian companies, Robert Savage has gained an in-depth knowledge of strategies
for successful people management, organisational change and effectiveness.
Having gained 35 years international experience with IBM in marketing, finance,
software development and general management, he is able to offer an expert view
of the role of IT in a global business context, particularly in relation to
electronic commerce.
Robert Savage was instrumental in the
reinvention of IBM as a market leader during the mid to late 1990s. As
Chairman and Managing Director of IBM Australia and General Manager, Australia
and New Zealand, from May 1996 to June 1999 Robert was integral to streamlining
and expanding the company. He worked to refocus the management structure,
taking it from highly divisionalised to a team-based culture. Revenue
doubled to over A$3 billion while staff numbers more than trebled.
Robert Savage supervised the establishment
of IBM Global Services Australia Ltd., a joint venture with Telstra and Lend
Lease, that has become the largest IT services provider in Australia. In 1998
the company was recognised with a Prime Minister's NSW State Award for its
progress as an employer in the area of diversity and work practices and for
employing physically-impaired workers.
From 1995 to May 1996 as General Manager
for all IBM's business dealings with governments in Asia Pacific and South
Asia, Robert Savage gained recognition for the company as a leader in the
development of government information technology strategies.
Prior to that he was Chairman and CEO for
IBM Hong Kong, China and Taiwan. Robert Savage turned the flagging China
division into a profitable business, with consistent growth in excess of 100%
per year, established several manufacturing and software joint ventures and a
division of IBM Research in Beijing. He also oversaw the transition of the
China workforce from assigned government contract labour to IBM employees.
Robert Savage established, and was Chairman of, IBM Greater China Group, one of
the first organisations to combine China, Hong Kong and Taiwan into a single
integrated business unit.