Nazareth Hosts Colleen Arnold as 2017 Commencement Speaker

Rochester, NY (02/22/2017) — Nazareth College is honored to announce that Colleen Fallon Arnold, retired senior vice president of IBM, will be the College’s 2017 Commencement speaker.  Nazareth’s undergraduate and graduate Commencement ceremony take place on Sunday, May 14, at 9:45 a.m. at the Blue Cross Arena, 100 Exchange Blvd., Rochester, N.Y. 14614.

Arnold, a Nazareth alumna, graduated with a bachelor’s degree in business from Nazareth College in 1979 and a master’s in business administration from Syracuse University’s Whitman School of Management in 1981.

She served in leadership positions at IBM for 35 years. She recently retired as senior vice president and head of IBM Sales and Distribution, responsible for revenue, profit, and client
satisfaction in North America and IBM’s industry client teams globally. Prior to that role, Arnold was senior vice president, IBM Application Management Services, leading IBM in providing clients with an integrated approach to managing their application portfolios.

Arnold was also a member of IBM’s Performance Team of senior executive leaders and had served on rotational assignments as a member of the IBM chairman’s Strategy Team and IBM’s Technical Leadership Team. In other IBM roles throughout her career, Arnold held positions delivering worldwide revenue, profit, and client satisfaction of IBM clients in telecommunications, media and entertainment, and energy and utility industries. She also led IBM’s efforts in the emerging business areas of wireless computing and digital media.

Colleen Fallon Arnold is the recipient of the 2014 Nazareth College Outstanding Alumni Award and was awarded the 2012 Jonathan J. Holtz Alumnus of the Year, at Syracuse University’s Whitman School of Management.