Rob Thomas on lesson he learnt from Netezza's founder Jit Saxena that made him realise what IBM may not be doing 'right'

In a bold move to reshape innovation at one of tech's oldest giants, Rob Thomas, IBM's senior vice president of software and chief commercial officer, is pushing a "build a little, test a little, learn a lot" philosophy to harmonize long-term engineering vision with immediate commercial demands.

Thomas assumed the rare dual role overseeing both the company's global engineering pipeline and sales organization -- a high-stakes juggling act few executives face at the 100-plus-year-old IBM. In his 25-plus years at IBM, Rob has held several leadership roles across the company. "We're breaking the old pattern," Thomas said in a recent interview with Fortune. "Instead of rigid, linear grand plans, we're prioritizing rapid feedback loops to drive real progress."

The approach draws inspiration from Jit Saxena, founder of data-warehousing pioneer Netezza, which IBM acquired in 2010. Thomas recounted Saxena's hands-on strategy after he began investing in startups: monthly meetings with founders centered on one key question: "What are customers telling you?" These consistent check-ins frequently sparked dramatic pivots from initial concepts, proving instrumental in crafting standout products.

"That story hit home," Thomas reflected in the interview. "IBM wasn't operating with that level of agility. Our processes were too inflexible, and that's when I knew we had to change how we innovate." At massive organizations, Thomas argues, transformative ideas often bubble up from within. The real leadership test, he says, lies in spotting these internal disruptors, amplifying their voices, and granting them leeway to experiment.

"They tend to be people that break a lot of glass," Thomas explained. "They have strong convictions about what we should do, skip the standard processes, and can be louder or more disagreeable. Encouraging that is part of our job."

IBM's $1.7 billion acquisition of Netezza in 2010

Joining the deal-making frenzy of the times, IBM acquired data analytics company Netezza Corp for $1.7 billion with the aim to expand in technology services and help clients better analyze market information in 2010. IBM's Netezza deal came as the company looked to shift its focus from increasingly commoditized hardware to higher-margin software and services, particularly analytics, which help clients analyze market data to plot trends or prevent fraud.