Seizing the AI Opportunity: Who is Lenovo’s New CTO?
At a time when AI is increasingly shaping the technology industry’s future, Lenovo has named Dr Tolga Kurtoglu as its new Chief Technology Officer (CTO) to help the company drive its AI leadership.
Dr Kurtoglu's background is extensive in the tech sector. He previously held positions as CTO of HP Inc. and Global Head of HP Labs, and his experience also includes a stint as CEO of Xerox Palo Alto Research Center and leadership roles in product development at Dell.
Yuanqing Yang, Chairman and CEO of Lenovo, framed the appointment in the context of AI's growing importance. “As we embrace the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in AI, I'm pleased to welcome Tolga to Lenovo to help us further realise our ambitions as a global technology powerhouse and drive our AI leadership forward,” Yang stated in the company's press release. “His experience across hardware, software, and AI technologies will further strengthen our innovation leadership and smarter AI for all focus.”
New Lenovo CTO Dr Tolga Kurtoglu to advance AI leadership
Focused on a bold vision to deliver Smarter Technology for All, Lenovo has built on its success as the world’s largest PC company with a pocket-to cloud portfolio of AI-enabled, AI-ready and AI-optimised devices, infrastructure, software, solutions and services.
Last year, the company announced the opening of its new Europe-based global innovation centre, specialising in AI and HPC, and revealed a US$1 billion investment over three years in accelerating AI deployment for businesses around the world.
Dr Kurtoglu’s track record includes numerous patents and published papers in fields such as automation, machine intelligence, computational design, systems engineering and digital manufacturing.
In his new role, Dr Kurtoglu will lead Lenovo’s Research team and oversee the company’s innovation ecosystem. He will also be responsible for aligning Lenovo’s technological vision with its overall business objectives as a member of the Lenovo Executive Committee.
The new CTO expressed enthusiasm about joining Lenovo, noting the company's “bold commitment to innovation” and emphasising the current focus on AI across the tech industry.
“I’ve long admired Lenovo from afar for its bold commitment to innovation,” he says. “At a time when all consumers and companies are seizing the potential of AI, I’m looking forward to working with research teams around the world to further accelerate the development of Lenovo’s portfolio and deliver powerful, flexible and responsible AI solutions that transform industries and empower individuals.”
Emerging Technology Group to drive growth opportunities for Lenovo
Alongside this appointment, Lenovo announced the formation of a new Emerging Technology Group. This unit will focus on anticipating emerging tech trends and converting them into business growth opportunities. Dr Yong Rui, who has served as Lenovo's CTO for the past seven years, will lead this new group as its President.
Dr Rui's transition to this role highlights Lenovo's efforts to stay ahead in today’s evolving tech landscape. “This is a pivotal time for the technology industry, with so many new transformative and emerging technologies that will change how we live, work, and do business,” Dr. Rui commented. “I’ve been passionate about incubating and commercializing new technologies throughout my career, and I’m excited to lead Lenovo’s new Emerging Technology Group.”
The company plans to provide more details about its innovation strategy at its upcoming Lenovo Tech World'24 event on October 15, 2024.
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