Number of Current Board & Advisor Roles 1
CB Rank (Investor) 123,079
  • Primary Job Title Senior Vice President
  • Primary Organization 
    IBM
  • Investor Type  Investment Partner

Bob is IBM Senior Vice President, The Weather Company and Alliances, with responsibility for The Weather Company, Watson Advertising, and TradeLens.

Bob oversees IBM’s strategic partnerships, having accelerated growth across IBM software, consulting, and infrastructure businesses. Previously, Bob served as IBM Senior Vice President of Worldwide

Ecosystems, where he transformed the core of IBM’s Go-To-Market strategy by building an open ecosystem across clients and partners. He joined IBM in 2016 as the company’s first Chief Digital Officer, optimizing how IBM innovation is delivered and consumed by the world’s leading organizations.

In pursuit of unlocking the world’s greatest challenges, Bob launched Call for Code, the largest and most ambitious effort to bring together software developers across the globe. To date, more than 500,000 problem-solvers across 180 nations have answered the call to take on pressing societal issues with cutting-edge solutions. Through the success of Bob’s team, each of those winning solutions were effectively incubated, field-tested, and deployed in communities where they can drive immediate and lasting humanitarian progress.

As a leader in tech for good and privacy forward data strategies, Bob led the industry-wide effort to mitigate bias in advertising. Under his leadership, IBM debuted the Advertising Toolkit for AI Fairness, an open-source project that helps the advertising industry remove biases in their machine learning models. More than 50 of the industries’ top agencies, holding companies, brands, AdTech companies, and industry associations have pledged their support.

Prior to IBM, Bob served as President of AOL, leading the company through its evolution into a leading, global advertising platform. He also served as CEO of Razorfish, a pioneering digital transformation consultancy helping companies like Cisco, Condé Nast, Ford, Mercedes-Benz and Pfizer redefine their brands for the digital age.

Bob’s experience and passion has made him an active member of the TED community, board member of the Partnership for New York City and Aqua Finance and former board member of Williams-Sonoma and Screen Vision Media. Dedicated to diversity, equity and inclusion, Bob currently serves as the Executive Sponsor for IBM’s Black Community, where he champions economic development, mentorship and professional growth for community members. Notably, Bob was named one of CRN’s 50 “Most Influential” channel chiefs in 2022. He also co-authored the book “Converge: Transforming Business at the Intersection of Marketing and Technology.”

Bob graduated from Syracuse University with a BS in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research and holds an MBA from Harvard University. When Bob’s not spending time with his family in Nantucket, he enjoys biking, surfing, golfing, and competing in triathlons.

Number of Partner Investments 2
Announced Date  
Organization Name  
Investor Name  
Lead Investor  
Funding Round  
Money Raised  
Mar 9, 2020
Lightbend
IBM
Series D - Lightbend
$25M
Jul 12, 2017
Lightbend
IBM
Yes
Series D - Lightbend
$15M
Number of Current Jobs 1
Number of Past Jobs 5
Bob Lord is the Senior Vice President at IBM. Additionally, Bob Lord has had 5 past jobs including President at AOL.
  • IBM Senior Vice PresidentFeb 2019
Organization Name  
Title At Company  
Start Date  
End Date  
AOL
President20152016
AOL Platforms
Global Chief Executive Officer20132015
Razorfish
CEO - Global20132013
Publicis Groupe
CEO - Digital Technology Division20132013
Razorfish
COO20022003
Number of Current Board & Advisor Roles 1
Bob Lord is the Advisor at Screenvision Media.
Number of Events 6
Bob Lord has participated in 6 events. They most recently attended, or will attend, IBM Think 2021 on May 11, 2021.