Rodney Adkins, who received a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degree in electrical engineering from Georgia Tech, was recently named Corporate Executive of the Year by Black Enterprise magazine.  Adkins is currently the Senior Vice President at IBM Systems and Technology Group.

Over his almost 30-year career with IBM, Mr. Adkins held a number of development and management roles, including running the Desktop and UNIX Systems businesses. He was general manager of Pervasive Computing, Software Group, which under his leadership developed some of the assets that are part of IBM’s Smarter Planet portfolio today.  He sits on the IBM Operating Team, responsible for day-to-day marketplace execution, and serves on the Board of Governors for the IBM Academy of Technology.

Mr. Adkins has been recognized as a leader in information technology by several aditional organizations – the 2007 Black Engineer of the Year, National Academy of Engineering election in 2005, Top Blacks in Technology since 2004, and Professional Achievement in Industry in 1996. In 2002, Fortune magazine named Mr. Adkins one of the 50 Most Powerful Black Executives in America. He also earned the Golden Torch Award for Lifetime Achievement in Industry from NSBE in 2001.