Since its founding 100 years ago, IBM has bestowed only a small handful of employees with the prestigious title of IBM Fellow. The position represents the highest technical honor that an employee of the company can receive. DePaul law alumnus Kerrie Holley (LAS ’76, JD ’82) is one of the several dozen recipients of this title.
“IBM Fellows are folks that created the DNA of a lot of the technology that we use in the market today,” Holley explains. “They are all inventors and have something that they are famous for in the tech field.”
Holley's claim to fame is a concept known as Service Oriented Architecture (SOA), which allows businesses to build application software the same way someone would build a structure out of LEGO blocks. Holley also serves as the chief technology officer (CTO) of IBM Global Business Services.
“As CTO, I provide thought leadership in terms of how we differentiate ourselves in the marketplace,” Holley says. “I also work with clients on some of our most challenging projects.”
Holley chose to attend the College of Law for practical reasons. He received his undergraduate degree in mathematics from DePaul, so he was familiar with the college's respected reputation. He also found the location exceptionally convenient.
“Because I was working in downtown Chicago, I could walk over to DePaul in the evening for classes,” Holley says.
It was at DePaul that Holley began to develop the leadership and managerial skills he would later use in his career.
“I found the Socratic approach challenging,” Holley explains. “The intensive Q&A has this way of making you think and build confidence if you lack it. And it will help you stand toe-to-toe with someone more knowledgeable than you, like a professor. I still use a lot of the content and lessons from that education in what I do today.”
Though Holley does not directly practice law in his current position, he still finds many applications for the skills and knowledge he acquired in law school.
“There is a strong technical flavor to what I do, but there also is a strong people flavor,” he says. “I have to engage with senior executives; I have to identify issues quickly; and I have to be succinct and help them solve problems, which are all part of the training I obtained in law school.”
Contributor: Keith Ecker
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