BIO

Annette Brooks is IBM Vice President of IBM Z Data and AI. She leads an organization of development engineers across multiple countries ensuring the delivery of AI-powered enterprise solutions. In her 25-year career at IBM, she has served in various leadership and management positions of increasing responsibility from product testing and development, to client support and technical strategy planning. Additionally, she spent four years as the Executive Client Advocate for Walmart (Bentonville, AR) and played an integral role in IBM's acquisition of Cleversafe (Chicago, IL). Through these assignments Annette has gained a wide range of technical and client facing experience. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from Alabama State University (Montgomery, AL) and an Executive Masters of Business Administration degree from Pace University (New York, NY). Annette’s commitment and contributions to Alabama State University have been recognized by the University. She served as the University’s Fall 2019 Commencement Speaker. Brooks received ASU’s “50 under 50” Award in 2018 and the Spirit of Marion Award in 2014. She also has received several community awards. Annette previously served as the vice-chair for the Alabama State University Foundation. She was initiated into the Beta Eta Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc and is the immediate past president of its Mid-Hudson Valley Alumnae Chapter. She resides in the Mid-Hudson Valley with her husband Kevin Quarles.