Pat Russo has spent her career in the computing and communications technology industries. She is currently Chairman of Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), a global industry leader in providing information management solutions to businesses around the world. In addition to chairing the board of HPE, Pat currently serves on the boards of General Motors, where she chairs the Governance Committee as well as the boards of Merck and KKR. She recently stepped off the board of Arconic after ten years of service where she most recently served as Interim Chair and chaired the Governance Committee. Pat was heavily involved in the decisions to separate HP into HPI and HPE and to separate Alcoa into Alcoa, Inc and Arconic. She has been an active board member as some of the companies on whose board she serves are going through significant transformations.
Pat was the Chairman and CEO of Lucent Technologies, during which time she led the company through the most challenging period in the telecommunications sector’s history. She led the company’s return to profitability and growth after the telecom industry downturn and later led the company through its cross border strategic merger with Alcatel. Pat served as CEO of the combined company (Alcatel-Lucent) through the end of 2008.
Pat is Chairman Emeritus of the Board of the Partnership for DrugFree Kids, a national nonprofit dedicated to preventing drug and alcohol abuse among youth. She serves as a Senior Advisor to World 50, an organization dedicated to the development of senior executives across all industries. She also teaches two seminars at the Wharton Business School Executive Education Program, one focused on Leading through Crises and the other on Mergers and Acquisitions. She has been recognized multiple times for her business achievements as one of Fortune’s “Most Powerful Women” and as one of Time’s “100 Most Influential People”. Pat is a graduate of Georgetown University and the Harvard Business School Advanced Management Program. She received Honorary Doctorate degrees from Stevens Institute of Technology and Columbia College. She is a member of the New York Economic Club, a Trustee of the Committee for Economic Development and a former member of the US Business Council.
