Moving on from IBM

Posted by Roo - 18/07/08 at 09:07:10 am

Having been an IBMer for more than 10 years, I’m moving on.

I’ve accepted the position of Portfolio Executive, Social Media at BBC Vision. What that means is that I’ll be helping to define, develop and execute BBC Vision’s strategy in relation to social media. Simon Nelson gave a speech in September 2007 about some of the progress made (and challenges faced) by the BBC in regard to multiplatform (more discussion about that here). That’s the backdrop to what I’m going there to help with. No doubt I’ll talk more about the specifics in the coming weeks and months. Oh, and I get to work with such cool people as Dan Taylor and Jo Twist.

Hursley House
IBM, Hursley, Hampshire
BBC Television Centre
BBC, Wood Lane, London

10 years is a long time (I got my pen last year) so although I’m very excited about the new role I always knew that I’d be sad when the day finally came to leave IBM. Hursley is a great place to work, but more than anything I’ll miss spending time with some very good friends who work there.

Things I’ll miss about IBM:

  • Friends. Lots of friends. So many very good friends. The good thing is that we don’t have to lose touch, but not seeing you all around on the intranet and in person is going to be sad. (Which leads us on to…)
  • Regular tea runs. The Hursley Cha Bar is a sort of second home. 66p for a small PG Tips. The Starbucks in White City just might not be the same.
  • Hursley itself. The site is a big gorgeous leafy campus with a nice walk around the site, a library, a reading room, 2 pubs in walking distance as well as an onsite bar/clubhouse and a couple of thousand geniuses. It’s beautiful.
  • A short drive to work, with a lift-share. (A train + tube journey from Southampton to Wood Lane is probably going to hurt a little bit, even factoring in some working on the train. I haven’t started yet and I’m already looking forward to the London Overground line opening. Southampton – Clapham Junction – Shepherd’s Bush has to be better than Southampton -> Waterloo – Bond St – White City)

Incredibly, I’ve been an IBMer ever since I finished school and started my degree as a sponsored student, way back in 1997. I was initially based in North Harbour before relocating to Hursley because that was where the interesting technical work seemed to be. I had roles in middleware development teams including spells in test, service and development. I’m glad to say that each role was more interesting and fun than the last. I have never had a master plan. I’ve never had long term goal, other than to say yes to everything I physically can, and have as much fun as possible.

In more recent times, that attitude has meant helping develop Business Integration for Games (before IBM, or the world, really took games seriously). I went on to be the the lead developer for a small messaging product called Microbroker before joining the Emerging Technology Services team making proof of concept and first of a kind prototypes for clients. Most recently, I was pleased to see that it really is possible to carve out a new role when I joined Ian in calling myself a Metaverse Evangelist and we were both picked up by the CIO office’s Innovate Quick team on a virtual remote assignment.

I got to meet a lot of clients and business partners in this role, so I know very well that IBM continues to impress people as being surprisingly advanced and interesting for a company of its age and size. Not only that, but IBMers are treated as grown ups; we get to use our common sense. If it was not for the freedom and trust which IBMers enjoy, I’d have left a very long time ago.

The thing that has made IBM such a great place to spend a third of my life (!) is the people I’ve worked with. Don’t lose touch – I’ll still be on LinkedIn, blogging, Twittering, etc.

I’ve worked with some great people and on some great projects, and it’s good to be leaving on a high. I don’t regret anything about my time at IBM, and I’m only going because it’s time for me to have even more fun elsewhere.

Goodbye, IBM. Hello, BBC.

Update: I’m overwhelmed by your lovely comments, compliments and travel tips. Thank you, everyone.

71 Comments »

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  1. You’re going to be very much missed!

    Comment by Ian Smith — July 18, 2008 #

  2. (But having said that, many congratulations!)

    Comment by Ian Smith — July 18, 2008 #

  3. Many congratulations, Roo. Very exciting! Looking forward to seeing you in London …

    Comment by David — July 18, 2008 #

  4. Congratulations! Will we get to see a Social Media related blog from the BBC then?

    Comment by Andrew Carr — July 18, 2008 #

  5. It’s a terrible shame to lose you but a very exciting opportunity and I’m sure you’re going to blow your new colleagues away. It has been a complete privilege to work with you – you’ve been an absolutely inspirational colleague. But you know all this already.

    Good luck.

    Comment by Andy Piper — July 18, 2008 #

  6. oh, and having worked at White City, I can assure you that there is absolutely no analog between the Cha Bar and Starbucks. But you’ll enjoy the al fresco summer barbecues.

    Comment by Andy Piper — July 18, 2008 #

  7. Congratulations, Roo!
    You know already we’re all very sad to see you go.
    It has been an inspiration and a privilege to work with you over the years!

    Best Wishes
    Andy

    Comment by Andy Stanford-Clark — July 18, 2008 #

  8. Congrats Roo – not on the new job, but for getting the IBm pen! I’m really jealous!

    Comment by Ben Matthews — July 18, 2008 #

  9. bloody hell you were already ubiquitous on the scene here in town. i hate to think how much you’ll 0wn the London scene when you live here.

    Comment by james governor — July 18, 2008 #

  10. congratulations.. our paths only really crossed once.. but you’re one of the small collection of IBM’ers who I think… ‘I’d like to be like that..’
    Wishing you all the best for the BBC and the new horizons!!

    Comment by Naquada — July 18, 2008 #

  11. Nicely done Roo!

    Comment by Drew — July 18, 2008 #

  12. WOW!!! What a superb piece of news for this fine Friday morning! Wonderful stuff, Roo, CONGRATULATIONS!!! I am really happy for you and although you shall thoroughly be missed, no doubt, it is great to know that you will be moving on to where your passion is driving you! Just brilliant! I do seriously hope that we would be able to meet up again at some point and at some place. For the time being, I shall certainly keep in touch with you online, which, I guess, is not going to be that difficult, right? After all, you *are* all over the place!

    Congrats again and all the very best in your new adventure! :-D

    Comment by Luis Suarez — July 18, 2008 #

  13. You certianly will be missed. Though you know that :-)
    It has been a terrific few years working with you. Doing the whole eightbar metaverse thing.
    It would not have been possible with just one of us evangelizing.
    I am going to go in the corner and mope now.

    Comment by epredator — July 18, 2008 #

  14. What a fantastic opportunity – congratulations!

    Comment by Andrew Walkingshaw — July 18, 2008 #

  15. Congrats! While we never met in person, it was (is) great having you as a virtual colleauge. Best of luck in the new gig.

    Comment by alan lepofsky — July 18, 2008 #

  16. Well, congratulations! It’s obvious that you have a passion for this area and I’m sure you’ll love your new role… best of luck.

    Comment by Andrew Ferrier — July 18, 2008 #

  17. what @5 said.

    thanks thanks thanks
    you will be missed
    and congratulations!

    Comment by wonderwebby — July 18, 2008 #

  18. Congrats! Awesome!

    Comment by Jeff McNeill — July 18, 2008 #

  19. Great win for the BBC. Congratulations to you both.

    Comment by Lars Plougmann — July 18, 2008 #

  20. already said this on sametime but how entirely exciting and obviously an ideal role; good luck and best wishes for better mentees in the future ;-)

    Comment by Julz — July 18, 2008 #

  21. Congratulations Roo.

    It has been a real privilege to work with you.

    I look forward to reading about your new role in the coming months.

    The BBC are very fortunate to have you.

    Comment by Michael Coleman — July 18, 2008 #

  22. Congrats on the new position. Keep us updated through the many social networks.

    Comment by Chris Miller — July 18, 2008 #

  23. Congrats Roo, your new opportunity sounds acebestwin.

    Comment by timdp — July 18, 2008 #

  24. Fantastic news, congratulations! Very wise move by the BBC I would say, although you’re clearly mad swapping Hursley for that commute! ;)

    Comment by James Taylor — July 18, 2008 #

  25. Really excited to have you coming to join us- this is great news. I’ve been waiting for announcements about appointments all week, but this is unexpected, and better than I could have anticipated.

    If you ever need a “leafy fix” do come down to Kingswood Warren- while we still have it! If you’re driving up it is just about doable from Soton.

    Comment by Meeware — July 18, 2008 #

  26. wow! I am SO happy for you and SO sad for us.

    We will miss you but will eagerly follow your adventures from afar.

    Congratulations!

    Comment by kellyd — July 18, 2008 #

  27. It’s hard to know what to say – I knew it was coming at yet very strange to see it written down. Hursley and IBM are going to be very different places without you and we’ll miss you a lot. Congratulations on this fantastic and exciting move – I really can’t wait to hear how it goes at the Beeb! Good luck!

    Comment by Gareth Jones — July 18, 2008 #

  28. Congrats Roo! The new job sounds great! :)

    You will indeed be missed, but you know, you can never really leave IBM… ;)

    Comment by Ville Peltola — July 18, 2008 #

  29. Congratulations Roo!

    Sounds like an amazing role and I’m looking forward to reading it reflected in your blog.

    Comment by Alan Lyes — July 18, 2008 #

  30. congratulations, Roo and congratulations, BBC. You’ve joined the IBM alumni a little earlier than most expected. Best wishes for much success — the world is a small place, and paths will frequently cross. Will watch here, on Twitter and other venues to see what you evolve with great expectations.

    Comment by Michael Martine — July 18, 2008 #

  31. Congratulations, Roo. The BBC are lucky to have you. As for IBM, it’s a shame to lose you (boo hoo, Roo) but it’s also heartening that your blog announcement is so positive about your time in Hursley.

    I see that your job move has already reached the press: http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/jul/18/bbc.ibm?gusrc=rss&feed=media

    Comment by Peter Anghelides — July 18, 2008 #

  32. Change is hard, but hey, it is so exciting to expand our experience with new opportunities. Congrats and good luck on bringing more infrastructure to the circle of networking. Farnham

    Comment by Barry Everett — July 18, 2008 #

  33. Congrats Roo!! And good luck!

    Comment by Aneel — July 18, 2008 #

  34. Hey Roo,
    Congratulations…
    Seems like yesterday we were all in FGB :-)

    Comment by Steve Wallin — July 18, 2008 #

  35. Congrats on the new job Roo! Our loss at IBM is definitely the BBC’s gain.

    Comment by Sean Dague — July 18, 2008 #

  36. Will we still get to see that fun green alien around IBM’s SL sims? ;) All the best.

    Comment by Mo Hax — July 18, 2008 #

  37. Congratulations! You’re going to be great at it

    Comment by Rachel — July 18, 2008 #

  38. Wish you the very best, Roo. Stay in touch!

    Comment by Erica Driver — July 18, 2008 #

  39. IBMs loss is BBCs gain! Good luck!

    Comment by Sharon Jones — July 18, 2008 #

  40. Hey Roo, many congratulations on your new role, it’s going to be very sad to see you go. When are the leaving drinks?! :)

    I hope the BBC is equally exciting, challenging and that they give you the freedom to work on cool things. And don’t forget those of us running Linux!

    Many thanks too for all the mentoring you gave me during my time in the IDS, you were really inspiring and you set me off down the right path :)

    Best of luck,

    Mark

    Comment by Mark Hiscock — July 18, 2008 #

  41. Best wishes, Roo. And thanks for all your help over the past year or so, helping me better understand social media and metaverses, and explaining them to reporters.

    Comment by JCadmus — July 18, 2008 #

  42. Roo,

    You’ve been a good friend to us in Higher Education in the UK. I know you’ll continue to do all you can to keep the contacts you’ve made with us.

    You and Ian at Hursley were important reasons why we felt that our move to becoming IBM customers was the “right move” for us in Cardiff.

    Best wishes and enjoy the next couple of weeks as you think about your future – which’ll be great with the Beeb, and reflect upon your past – which has been inspirational.

    Keep in touch.

    David.

    Comment by DIH — July 18, 2008 #

  43. Roo, congratulations and welcome to the hive.

    I look forward to surfing the wave of change with you.

    Philip

    Comment by Trippenbach — July 18, 2008 #

  44. Congratulations Roo, wonderful news! It’s been a very great pleasure to work with you over the last couple of years. I’ll miss you, athough I am sure we will still run into oneanother in person from time to time as well as everywhere else.

    When are the leaving drinks?

    Good luck and have fun!

    Holly

    Comment by Holly — July 18, 2008 #

  45. Roo,
    We have had the opportunity to meet only very briefly for one of your sessions as an evangelist, at Deloitte, but I also started reading your blog and twitts, and loved your openness and style and insight. IBM was lucky to have you, and the BBC shall worry only of making the most out of your contribution. Best of luck, and hope to work together, on either side of the table!

    Gianfranco

    Comment by Giacecco — July 18, 2008 #

  46. Congratulations Roo!! Looks like exciting times are to come, for the BBC and for you. Good luck!!

    Comment by Cesar — July 18, 2008 #

  47. Just heard it today. Best of luck at the Beeb!

    Hope I can still run into you on SL from time to time.

    Comment by Rawn Shah — July 18, 2008 #

  48. Hearty congrats on your Beebalicious move and looking forward to finding out what a “Portfolio Executive, Social Media at BBC Vision” does. “Metaverse Evangelist” took some figuring (once upon a time).

    Comment by Aleister Kronos — July 18, 2008 #

  49. Congrats on the new job and good luck! I will totally be demanding tours of wood lane when I next see you :)

    Comment by Cheesy — July 18, 2008 #

  50. Congratulations Roo, good luck at the Beeb !

    Comment by Hammy Takakura — July 19, 2008 #

  51. Holy cow it’s an exodus!

    I’m really excited for you though… I think there is only so far that you can take the work that you’ve been doing at (and outside of) IBM, and this seems like such a wonderful position for you.

    I hope that it’s everything you could wish it to be, and an environment were you are inspired as much as you’ve been known to inspire!

    Comment by Frank Jania — July 19, 2008 #

  52. Congratulations Roo, and on a selfish note I’ll miss you around ETS.

    Comment by Graham White — July 19, 2008 #

  53. Congrats Roo – I’m sure you’ll do a great job. If you have time, please swing by Headshift for lunch one day and tell us more.

    Comment by Lee Bryant — July 19, 2008 #

  54. Hey there Roo,

    All the best at BBC !! Always looked admirably at the British channel as THE social media leader in the Telco industry, and with you on board I’m sure the BBC will stay in the lead…

    Good luck, Dvir.

    Comment by Dvir Reznik — July 19, 2008 #

  55. Nothing but happiness for you, Roo. IBM was lucky to have you for a decade. I’d say keep in touch, but there’s no way you can hide with as much data as you generate, so it’s sort of a moot sentiment. Hope to see you soon.

    Best of luck!

    Comment by John Tolva — July 19, 2008 #

  56. Wishing you all the best with the new role, especially as the BBC seem to be doing many exciting things at present.
    I look forward to reading your blogs going forward.

    Comment by Mark Murray — July 19, 2008 #

  57. Hi Roo

    Congrats. V.pleased you’re joining us.

    I do Haywards Heath > Clapham Junction > Olympia > BBC Shuttle > Wood Lane. Not too painful. Overground opens in Oct i think.

    Comment by Jem Stone — July 20, 2008 #

  58. Hi Roo, congratulations – when you get to the BBC please get in touch! I’m features editor of the staff paper and I’d love to chat to you about doing a piece on all things social media.

    Comment by zoe kleinman — July 21, 2008 #

  59. Hey Roo, looks like I’m a bit late to the party here.

    An impressive amount of comments wishing you well and rightly so :)

    So I’ll simply wish you all the best at the Beeb and say it was a pleasure working with you.

    Comment by Rob Smart — July 21, 2008 #

  60. It takes guts to leave ole IBM … good for you. I enjoyed your posts on Blog Central and I’ve just added this blog to my RSS feed so I can keep getting my left brain wacks.

    Comment by John Langlois — July 21, 2008 #

  61. Hey! Congratulations. Whatever they are paying you, they have just bought a brain the size of a planet and they won’t regret it! A huge brain with a great and warm personality to steer it too.

    Have lots of fun. I’m sure you will. :)

    We’ll have to have you on Boris in Wonderland in your new capacity.

    Comment by Kevin Aires — July 22, 2008 #

  62. Congratulations Roo. Although we never met in person, it was (is) great having you as a IBM and virtual colleauge. Good luck and most of all have fun at the Beeb!

    Comment by zena washington — July 22, 2008 #

  63. Virtually gone, but only after leaving a strong mark on each one of us. Let your new projects inspire you to ever greater accomplishments -

    thanks for being the Roo that we all adore, a bright sparkle is moving on

    Comment by Alexis — July 22, 2008 #

  64. Nooooooooooooooooo!

    I suppose it had to happen at some point. Absolutely sick as the proverbial parrot to see you go buddy, but it sounds like they made you an offer you can’t refuse!

    All the best…
    ..and don’t think for a second this means I’ll stop hassling you.

    Matt

    Comment by Matt Whitbourne — July 22, 2008 #

  65. Roo – It was such a pleasure to work with you – I will miss your positive attitude and wish you all the best!

    Comment by Lisa Smith — July 22, 2008 #

  66. Congratulations! Will will miss you at IBM!

    Comment by Nicolai Rygh — July 23, 2008 #

  67. All the best Roo, its sad to see good talent moving on but sounds like an opportunity not to be missed, when you get on the inside of the BBC look up Justin Richards he leads the “Doctor Who” books side and is an Ex IBM as well, he led the design of CUA for OS/2 Windows many many years ago, all the best and keep having fun.

    Matt

    Comment by Matthew Perrins — July 24, 2008 #

  68. Wow. Thank god for Twitter keeping me aware of things (I’m on vacation this week). I’m sure your decision to leave IBM wasn’t easy, especially when you were able to define so much of what you did in your daily work. Enjoy the new digs, and keep chatting on your new experiences! Cheers

    Comment by Jean-Francois Arseneault — July 24, 2008 #

  69. Good luck Roo, IBM is a poorer place without you, but I can’t think of anywhere more fun than the Beeb! Enjoy yourself – you richly deserve it. Oh and change the world whilst you’re about it :+)

    Cheers
    Richard

    Comment by Richard Hopkins — July 28, 2008 #

  70. I felt tearful reading your blog, and even more so reading the comments ….. all the best Roo in your new Job … I look forward to seeing you on Top Gear or maybe even Eastenders haha :o)

    You only live round the corner, so I’m sure we’ll see you soon. (Thanks for offering to baby-sit as well hehe :oP don’t you remember saying that?)

    Comment by Hanan Smart — August 7, 2008 #

  71. Well it’s two years on, it was an interesting article to read/ How about a follow up now?

    Comment by Wade — November 11, 2010 #

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