Long-time industry executive Sumit Gupta has left GPU-pioneer NVIDIA, were he was GM, GPU Accelerated Data Center Computing, to join IBM as VP, HPC & OpenPOWER Operations. Executive changes in the HPC world are common but changes at this executive level are rare.

Few details are known but IBM provided the background answers below to shed some light on Gupta’s new responsibilities and goals. Gupta joined Nvidia in 2007, which is a member of the OpenPOWER Foundation.

Q:  What is Sumit’s role with IBM?

A:  As Vice President and Business Line Executive for OpenPOWER High Performance Computing, Sumit is responsible for the business management of IBM’s OpenPOWER HPC line of business, as well as driving operations for the entire OpenPOWER organization. Sumit will leverage his extensive experience in the HPC market to drive product requirements, market segmentation, competitive analysis, ISV strategy and overall business line execution, working very closely with our OpenPOWER development, marketing, customer engagement, ecosystem and strategy teams.

Q:  With whom will Sumit collaborate closely on IBM’s HPC leadership team?

A:  In this role, Sumit will collaborate closely with Dave Turek, noted industry expert and IBM Vice President of HPC Engagement.  Working together, Dave and Sumit will combine their capabilities and industry influence to capture the significant opportunity for IBM’s OpenPOWER HPC business.

Q:  Is this a new role?  If yes, why was it created?

A:  Yes. This new role was created to address a sizeable market opportunity for IBM and our OpenPOWER partners, particularly those that focus on the HPC market.  Today there are more than 125 OpenPOWER Foundation members worldwide, including several organizations that now provide differentiated POWER-based offerings for the HPC market. This rapidly expanding ecosystem combined with a growing number of high-profile OpenPOWER client engagements, including our work with the U.S. Department of Energy, has spurred significant, new business opportunities with clients in public and private sectors around the world.

Q:  Why was Sumit chosen for this role?  What skills or expertise does he bring?

A:  Sumit is credited widely for being instrumental in creating the accelerated computing market, a market he grew from a startup with zero revenue to a multi-hundred million dollar business for NVIDIA under his leadership. His ability to define and grow a market from the ground up, combined with his deep technical knowledge of the high performance computing industry, makes him the ideal candidate to help lead this charge as OpenPOWER redefines the data center.

Q:  Is NVIDIA supportive of this move?

A:  IBM and NVIDIA maintain a strong relationship.

Q:  Who will take over the OpenPOWER related work Sumit was leading at NVIDIA?  Who will cover that now?

A:  There are several persons at NVIDIA who are actively involved in OpenPOWER, including Mike Diamond who serves on the OpenPOWER Board of Directors.

Q:  When does Sumit start and where will his office be located?

A:  Sumit’s first day with IBM was Monday, May 18.  Sumit resides and will maintain an office in Silicon Valley where he will serve as a strong west coast presence for IBM and OpenPOWER.