Jonathan Adashek

SVP Marketing & Communications
IBM
US

Jonathan Adashek joining IBM as its chief communications officer in January 2020 was one of the biggest industry people move stories of that year. Assuming one of the business world’s highest profile communications jobs after the departure of Ray Day, Adashek stepped up to lead a department that Day purposefully upended upon joining the company two years earlier, including overhauling IBM’s longstanding PR agency relationships, in an effort to rally the flagging business.

Less than two years into the job, Adashek overhauled the company’s comms function, introducing a campaign-driven approach. IBM’s in-house communicators — who have traditionally supported initiatives across the business — now focus on just one of five areas: AI, hybrid cloud, quantum and innovation, good tech, and business growth. All of which is in keeping with Adashek’s goal of having the function reflect the future of the 112-year-old technology giant as it positions itself as a 21st century computing company and ensuring that the comms team is “in lockstep with the business and the CEO’s priorities.” In early 2022, Adashek added oversight of IBM’s marketing division to his responsibilities as senior vice president of marketing and communications, and earlier this year, named Sarah Meron as his new CCO.

Adashek joined IBM after departing his post as global communications lead for the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance, where he reported to chairman Carlos Ghosn prior to his arrest and subsequent escape from Japan to Lebanon. He took on the Alliance role in Paris in early 2018, after previously serving as Nissan's chief communications officer in Yokohama. He joined Nissan in 2015 from Microsoft, where he was the GM of communications strategy. Before that, he was an EVP at Edelman, where he served as a global client relationship manager.

What are the communications industry's biggest challenges and opportunities in the year ahead?
AI and corresponding skills.

What have you most admired about the communications industry over the past year, and what has disappointed you?
I would like to see more diversity in the industry. I am also disappointed at how people are adopting AI and other new technologies.

What work from your team are you most proud of over the past year?
The work done to bring watsonx to life through our activations and engagements.

Which book/movie/TV show/podcast/playlist/other cultural source has helped you get through the past year or provided inspiration?
Good Ol Grateful Deadcast.

If I wasn't working in marketing/communications, I would be...
Living on a beach.