Information Interview — My Rochester Mentor

Name: Gerry Nonn

Title/Position: Business Operations for the Minnesota Senior State Executive / Rochester Senior Location Executive

Company: IBM

Industry: IT

Years with IBM: 35+

Formal Education: BS in Accounting for UW — La Crosse

Questions about the Contact:

1. What do you do? What are the duties/functions/responsibilities of the job?

Gerry was the Executive Assistant (EA) for Walt Ling, who was the most senior executive in Minnesota. Walt was an executive in his own business unit, and Gerry assisted him in those day to day activities. In addition to this, Walt was responsible for the operations of the Rochester site, which hosts teams from dozens of business units within IBM. Walt made decisions about site operations, site climate, hosted town halls, and was the final decision maker for numerous topics. Gerry’s responsibilities were to be Walt’s right hand man. He ensured the smooth execution of Walt’s decisions. Walt has recently retired, and now Gerry is within the Rochester Finance Center of Excellence and is in charge of special projects. Essentially, he is a jack of all trades.

2. Why did this type of work interest you, and how did you get started?

Gerry remarked that he was always a numbers guy. He grew up on a farm in rural Wisconsin, and while he appreciated the farm life, he knew that was not the path for him. With his appreciation for numbers, he was the first from his family to go to college to get a degree.

3. What part of this job do you personally find most satisfying? Most challenging?

As a “people person”, Gerry truly appreciates networking and working with other people. His role as a focal point on the Rochester site afforded him the opportunity to work with many different people in many different areas of the business. He liaised between numerous teams to ensure the smooth operation of countless events, activities, and projects.

4. What is your professional background? Where did you start, and how did you get to where you are now?

His first role with IBM was in a financial accounting role. After that, Gerry had multiple roles in accounting with responsibilities such as capitalizing assets, procurement, cost, and physical inventory. He has also held other roles outside of accounting in business controls, product pricing, and facilities management.

5. Why did you decide to work for IBM?

Right out of college Gerry had two interviews; one was with an accounting firm in La Crosse, and the other with IBM in Rochester. He chose Rochester because he knew IBM would afford him multiple potential career paths. Working for an accounting firm would only give one career path. In retrospect this was completely accurate. Gerry held numerous roles in accounting, finance, real estate site operations, and management.

6. What skills or talents are essential to being effective in your job?

Gerry mentioned multiple things that have helped him succeed in his roles at IBM:

- Getting along with people

- Getting to know people personally, usually in a face to face manner

- The ability to collaborate with people in multiple facets of the business

- A strong work ethic

7. Is there something you wish you’d known or a skill you wish you had when starting out at IBM? Or, is there something you wish you had done differently starting out?

When Gerry started at IBM he admitted he was a shy farm kid who thought the most important thing was a strong work ethic. While this is really important, you can’t just show up, do your work, and go home. You must be able to network. Having a large network is vital to success. In addition to this, he wished he would have listened more earlier on. He also commented on how he took advantage of the learning opportunities available to him, and that this was one thing he’d suggest all individuals strive for, regardless of where they are in their career.

Questions about Communicating for Leadership:

1. How would you describe yourself as a leader?

Gerry considers himself to be a consensus builder, and that working as a team is his primary goal as a leader. He really likes winning, and when he does win he gives credit to the team and the team’s leadership. In the end it is always about the people. They must come first.

2. Could you tell me story about challenge you faced as leader? How did you solve it? How did it change you?

Gerry transitioned from a pricing role to being a manager in Real Estate Site Operations (RESO, or Facilities Operations). Very shortly after moving into that new role, he was asked to inform 4 employees that they were subject to the current round of layoffs. This was a very difficult situation for Gerry, but he told me that the best way through it was to suck it up. He toed the business line as to why these positions were no longer necessary for IBM, but to also realize these are people. They needed to be treated as people. Gerry was sensitive to their feelings, but focused on the facts as to what was happening.

3. Could you tell me story about a time you need to communicate to get a group of people to change?

Gerry had a great story from outside of the work environment that resonated with me. He is the president of the Lourdes Foundation, which is the foundation that supports a private high school in Rochester (I also happen to be an alumni of this Lourdes High School). There was a toxic environment between the Lourdes Foundation and the Rochester Catholic Schools Board of Directors, two different entities that support the same mission of advancing the betterment of the RCS system which Lourdes is a part of. He sat down with the president of the RCS Board and they agreed they needed to bring the two boards together

Questions seeking Advice:

1. Do you have special words of warning or encouragement as a result of your experience?

I should focus on networking in every aspect of my day, not just while at work. There are plenty of opportunities to make connections outside of work that will benefit both my career and my life in general.

I should also be myself. I should not try to be someone that I am not to impress someone or to try to get ahead. If I am not arrogant then I will do well. Also, I should not be afraid of executives as they are people who were in a position like me in the past as well.

2. Would you mind taking a look at my resume?

I should emphasize the leadership aspects of the roles I have been in. This includes my role as Team Lead and that I am a lead consolidator in a worldwide focused role.

3. How would you assess my experience in terms of advancing at IBM?

Gerry commented that I have been on the fast track thus far in my career at IBM. I should continue doing what I have done, and I will be successful at IBM in Rochester.

4. Where might my skills fit in a field outside of finance but within IBM?

Gerry mentioned a few different areas that I should consider that would be outside of a traditional financial analyst role like the one I am in now. He first suggested that I try management. A management role outside of finance would be beneficial as I would gain exposure to a larger number of people. Lastly, he suggested I work towards a project manager role where I can work on specific projects, even if I don’t have the technical expertise of the team members.