IBM Senior Vice President Jon C. Iwata is SJSU’s 2010 Commencement Speaker

Contact: Pat Lopes Harris, 408-924-1748.

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SAN JOSÉ, Calif., — IBM Senior Vice President of Marketing and Communications Jon C. Iwata will be San José State’s 2010 commencement speaker. Commencement will begin at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, May 29, in Spartan Stadium. Approximately 7,000 candidates who completed their studies in August 2009, December 2009 and May 2010 will be eligible to participate.

“We are honored Jon Iwata accepted our invitation,” President Jon Whitmore said. “Mr. Iwata’s career exemplifies the contributions our graduates make to our community, the tech industry and the economy. He is also an excellent role model for our students, who come from all walks of life seeking opportunities and pursuing dreams to reach their full potential.”

Iwata leads IBM’s marketing, communications and citizenship organization. This global team is responsible for market insights, demand generation for IBM products and services, communications and corporate affairs, and stewardship of the IBM brand, recognized as one of the most valuable in the world. Iwata and his team led the development of IBM’s “Smarter Planet” strategy, which describes the company’s view of the next era of information technology and its impact on business and society.

Iwata is a member of the IBM Operating Team, responsible for day-to-day marketplace execution, and the IBM Strategy Team, which focuses on long-term issues and opportunities. He is vice chairman of the IBM International Foundation. Iwata reports to IBM Chairman and CEO Sam Palmisano.

Iwata joined the communications function of IBM in 1984 at the company’s Almaden Research Center in Silicon Valley. In 1989, he joined IBM corporate headquarters in Armonk, New York. He was appointed vice president of corporate communications in 1995 and senior vice president, communications, in 2002. He assumed his current role on July 1, 2008.

Iwata is a member of the Technology Committee of the Museum of Modern Art, the University of California’s Economic Advisory Group and is a trustee of the Arthur W. Page Society. From 2006-2007, he served as chairman of The Seminar, a professional group consisting of chief communications officers. He holds a B.A. from the School of Journalism and Mass Communications at SJSU.

Iwata is co-inventor of a U.S. patent for advanced semiconductor lithography technology.

San José State — Silicon Valley’s largest institution of higher learning with 30,000 students and 4,700 employees — is part of the California State University system. SJSU’s 154-acre downtown campus anchors the nation’s 10th largest city.