Florence Hudson ’80 has received the 2008 Society of Women Engineers’ Upward Mobility Award, which is given for exemplary business and technical leadership and serving as an outstanding mentor and model for women. The award also recognizes efforts to support the advancement of women to leadership positions in technical fields.

Hudson led IBM’s recent global energy and environment initiatives. She most recently served as the company’s president of marketing and strategy for System z mainframe computers and is responsible for the strategic growth and marketing for IBM’s mainframe systems – a division that brought in $2.3 billion in revenue in 2007.

As the executive leader in charge of developing the strategy and execution plans for IBM’s recent global energy and environment initiatives and having most recently served IBM as Vice President of Marketing and Strategy for System z mainframes globally her accomplishments are vast. Hudson is responsible for the strategic growth and marketing of IBM’s mainframe systems and delivered more than $2.3B in revenue for the IBM Corporation in 2007 through her marketing and partner programs.

Hudson graduated earned her B.S.E. in mechanical and aerospace engineering from Princeton.