IBM Executive Stories: Creating What’s Next in Computing with Darío Gil, Director of IBM Research

IBM Research opened its first lab in 1945. Since then, 18 additional research facilities span the world in India, Japan, Brazil, Switzerland, Ireland, Israel, United Kingdom, Kenya, South Africa, and the United States. Working inside those labs are more than 3,000 IBMers and some of the most brilliant minds in science and technology. They’re working together – in areas including semiconductor research and quantum computing, to artificial intelligence, and computing architecture enabled by hybrid cloud – to imagine the future of computing and build it.

These IBMers have authored more than 110,000 research publication, their work is regularly featured in the world’s most prestigious journals and conferences, and their eminence is reflected in their honors – from Nobel Prizes to Medals of Technology and National Medals of Science.

Leading this group of innovative IBMers and its global technical community is Senior Vice President and Director of IBM Research, Darío Gil. Originally from Spain, this US-based IBMer is also the Senior Executive Sponsor for Familia@IBM, a community of Latino IBMers and allies working together to create new opportunities to increase the visibility, representation and opportunity for Latinos in and outside IBM.

In this interview, Darío shares how he and his team are helping drive the present and future of science and technology – and what inspires and motivates him to continue leading our innovation agenda after over 20 years at IBM.

“The reason we’re here is to serve as the organic growth engine for the company. What we mean by ’organic’ is we invest in R&D (research and development) and research capacity, and we are supposed to innovate and create technology that makes better products, invents new products – our capabilities that we can bring to market to drive growth.

The simultaneous mission is always to create what’s next in computing. I like to say that the story of IBM is the story of computing and the relationship of that field of computing with professionals and the world of business and government, and the role of research.”

“In research & development, there are fantastic laboratories but many only work on one field. For example, they only focus on computer science or AI. Or another lab will only do R&D in semiconductors or quantum. I think something really special about IBM is we still have this diversity of disciplines and fields reflecting the IBM business, like IBM Infrastructure, IBM Software, and IBM Consulting.

My original background is in the field of semiconductors and nanotechnology, where we continue to do amazing things there, and I love that field.

But I also love that I get to spend a lot of time with researchers, engineers, and designers that work in a wide variety of disciplines from advanced semiconductors and artificial intelligence to quantum computing and cryptography, you name it. I like that I can walk down the hall and see people building materials, working on semiconductors and physical sciences, or writing code… and that brings me energy.

I’m always learning, I’m always challenged, and I’m always inspired by a wide variety of colleagues and partners from all levels, disciplines and geographies.”

“Now in this decade, we are seeing this convergence of scaling the limits of semiconductors, AI, and quantum computing. This is the era of bits, neurons, and qubits. These three computing revolutions are groundbreaking in and of themselves, but when taken together they could unlock capabilities like nothing we’ve seen before. This is an incredible time of change, and I think we’re fortunate to live in this moment and to be doing this work.

I really believe this is the most exciting time in computing, probably since the 1940s. I go all the way back to that era because that’s when the first programmable computers were invented. That’s when the transistor was invented. There was just so much creativity at that time building the edifice of modern-day IT.

The world of AI is particularly exciting, fast-moving and open. In the Research division, we build the Granite models, which are the foundation models we use across the company to do generative AI. It’s a very interesting and dynamic field. There’s a lot of competition and intensity.”

“I’ve been at IBM for 21 years. A little bit longer through grad school and so on in the field – but why stay, right? For me, it’s because I think IBM is incredibly special in that you can have many careers within the same company. One thing that I love about our culture is that no one has ever told me, ‘Oh, you cannot do that’ or like, ‘you have to stay in this lane.’ If you’re interested and passionate, and you’re willing to take risks and learn and work hard, then you can move from area to area. In my 21 years, I’ve had what feels like several careers and I’ve loved that.

I have also had so many great people that I’ve worked with that I admire, including people who had been idols of mine long before I joined the company. I felt very fortunate that I could work with people like that.”

As time went by, I got to a point that I began to have this sort of intense loyalty and desire to win with this team. Not with another team. For me, it’s about us.

Us being successful; us winning; us rolling together. So that’s what inspires and motivates me.”

“We’re fortunate to work in the field that we work in with this category of computing and information technology touching every facet of society. So we’re deeply involved with a broad community of scientists and technologies that move the field forward. We’re intertwined with our colleagues in science funding, universities, national laboratories, across industries, philanthropies and more.

I’m fortunate that IBM has always supported my passion for science and technology policy and my work with organizations, like the National Science Board and the National Science Foundation, which fund a huge chunk of research and development for the university ecosystem in the United States.

I think it’s good for industries to participate in the overall governance of those investments that the citizens through Congress make on behalf of the nation. I think taking a long-term perspective is beneficial for collaboration across sectors and I’m always thankful that IBM 
has a long-standing tradition and is supportive of me doing so.”

“Once you see more role models, more examples of people in science and technology, I think it opens people’s eyes and you see yourself in them… and then, it’s a little bit easier to take the next steps in that direction.

It has happened in fields, like engineering. It used to be an almost all-male. And when I go and see my oldest daughter who is starting her journey in computer science, I remember what things used to look like. And when I go visit her at university now and see 50/50 male-to-female ratios and the diversity around this, I realize there’s been so much improvement from that perspective, but we still have so much room to grow.

That’s one of the reasons why I also got interested and involved in public policy around science and technology – because if you look at organizations, like the National Science Foundation, that’s how we invest in developing more talent.

It takes a lot of collaboration and commitment. It takes what businesses can do. It takes what governments can do.

But it’s also up to us, what we can do as individuals and together.”

For more than 110 years, IBM has been a catalyst that makes the world work better, and we remain dedicated to driving actionable change and outcomes for a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive society – and in the world of delivery consulting, you could do just that. Each day is a chance to solve new puzzles, meet new challenges, and help clients achieve their goals — all while growing your expertise and expanding your horizons.

If Darío’s journey and insights have intrigued you, consider IBM as your employer of choice.

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