New position: Florida senior state executive, IBM, Tampa. Previous position: Senior location executive, IBM, Tampa
By FRED W. WRIGHT JR.
Published October 27, 2003
With his promotion to Florida senior state executive for IBM Corp., Dwayne Ingram now has three job titles and enough obligations to keep him on the road several days a week.
Ingram remains senior location executive until a successor is appointed, and he also still is vice president of travel and transportation, focusing on IBM clients that range from hotels to casinos and from cruise lines to travel agencies. "That's my normal job and (it) keeps me hopping and on the road," Ingram said.
His side job, Ingram says, also is demanding: serving as a primary link between the corporation and the community as well as government and media relations. And Ingram is asked to promote volunteerism among IBM employees, a task he takes to heart, he said.
The scope of his executive responsibilities, shifting from the Tampa Bay area to the entire state, also means a greater number of employees to oversee, from approximately 1,600 in the bay area to more than 4,000 statewide. IBM has operations in all of Florida's major cities, Ingram said. "I'll be working with people who have senior location executive roles in those geographic areas," he said.
One of the newest programs involving volunteers, Ingram said, is an e-mentoring program launched this school year in Hillsborough and Pinellas counties. These programs, called Mentor Place, are the second and third such projects in Florida, patterned after the inaugural program in Boca Raton.
Twenty-five IBM employees in each county tutor students in the third and fifth grades at Jamerson Elementary in Pinellas and Rowland Park Elementary in Hillsborough, he said. "We visit the students monthly. In between, we e-mail them, ask how they're doing in school and how can we help them improve," Ingram said.
"I have a "mentee,' Michael. I'm working with him and e-mailing him and taking pizza to him once in a while," he said. "Michael and I can exchange e-mails throughout the week just like other employees on the road. When I am in town, I'm able to go over at lunch and spend time with him."
Ingram said he rejuvenated a volunteer council at IBM to further employee-community involvement. "We usually have three to four different volunteer opportunities every month."About 400 employees take part, he said.
Ingram is a graduate of Lipscomb University in Nashville, earning a bachelor of science degree in management and communications in 1984. While at the university, he began to work for IBM, sometimes on a government liaison team but usually in retail sales.
"I worked with things like typewriters and copiers and things we don't sell anymore," he said.
After graduation, Ingram worked for IBM for a decade, transferring to Memphis during that time. He left the company for four years, then returned in 1997 and transferred to Tampa.
Ingram is on the board of directors of several organizations, including the United Way of Tampa Bay, the Florida Chamber of Commerce and Florida TaxWatch.
Ingram, 41, said he likes the evolving nature of his industry. "I think there's a chance to do just so many different things," he said. "Technology changes so often. It's always exciting. Something new to do, new to learn - a continuous educational process. About the time you learn a technology, the technology changes.
"I crave knowledge," he said, "and I crave excitement. If I had to sit behind a desk, I'm one of those people who would probably go crazy. Now I have a chance to do things with customers all over the world."
Ingram and his wife, Bonnie, have three teenagers. They live in Tampa.
