Primary Job Title President Primary Organization 
3RAM Group
Location New York, New York, United States Regions Greater New York Area, East Coast, Northeastern US Gender Male Also Known As Rod
Website www.rodneycadkins.com LinkedIn View on LinkedIn X (Twitter) View on X
Rodney Adkins is President of 3RAM Group LLC, a privately held company specializing in capital investments, business consulting services and property management. Formerly, Rodney was Senior Vice President of IBM, having served in that position from 2007 until 2014. Rodney is the company’s first African American Senior Vice President and corporate
officer. In his more than 33-year career, Rodney has held several senior vice president roles, including Strategic Partnerships and Corporate Strategy from 2013 to 2014, where he was responsible for leading continuous transformation across IBM and developing strategies for a new era of computing, new markets and new clients.
Rodney was previously Senior Vice President of Systems and Technology Group (STG), a $20B business segment. Rodney held this position since 2009 and was responsible for all aspects of IBM’s semiconductor, server, storage, and system software businesses, as well as the company’s Integrated Supply Chain and Global Business Partners organizations. Before heading all of Systems and Technology Group, Rodney was Senior Vice President of STG Development and Manufacturing, a position he held since 2007. Rodney has served in a number of operational and management roles throughout his IBM career. This includes the General Manager position for the multibillion-dollar PC Company, UNIX Systems, and Pervasive Computing business units.
Rodney's work spanned the world of technology and computing. Rodney was a leading innovator in solutions ranging from mobile devices to the world's largest supercomputers. Rodney's major contributions included helping to develop the Personal Computer industry, launching the IBM ThinkPad mobile PC, leading IBM's POWER business to become the dominant player in the UNIX market and helping to pioneer what became IBM's portfolio of Smarter Planet solutions.
Rodney was inducted into the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) in 2005, which is one of the highest national recognitions for the engineering profession. Rodney's life story is archived in The History Makers and he is a lifetime member of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE). In 2001, NSBE recognized Rodney with the Golden Torch Award for Lifetime Achievement in Industry. In 2002, Fortune magazine named Rodney one of the 50 Most Powerful Black Executives in America. Black Enterprise magazine chose Rodney as its 2011 Corporate Executive of the Year.
Rodney has been awarded honorary doctoral degrees from the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) and the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC).
Rodney serves on the board of directors for United Parcel Service (UPS), Grainger, PPL Corporation, Avnet, Kappa Alpha Psi Foundation, National Materials & Manufacturing, and the national board of the Smithsonian Institution.
Rodney is a Member of the Executive Leadership Council (ELC), a trustee of Georgia Tech and Rollins College.
Rodney also serves on the UMBC Board of Visitors and the University of Miami College of Engineering Visiting Committee.
Rodney previously served on the board of Pitney Bowes, PeopleClick Inc. and the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering (NACME).
Rodney holds a Bachelor of Arts degree with an emphasis in Physics from Rollins College, as well as Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in Electrical Engineering from Georgia Tech.
