Ginni Rometty

Whether you like it, you're a role model or not.

You are a role model for people.

Whether you know it, like it, want it, does not matter.

I learned that the hard way.

And I would have to say to people, hey, just because I do this does not mean I do it for these reasons, right?

It's going to be really explicit.

And I'd come to believe, usually when people say the word power, I don't know, do you have a positive or negative notion when I say the word power?

for some stereotype or some view that somebody's abused it in some way.

You can read the newspaper, somebody's doing something.

Personal people, like I'll ask people, do you want power?

And they're like, oh no, I'd rather do good.

And I think the irony is you need power to do good.

And so that sort of led me down to, as I thought about my own life, right?

Because it starts in a

Like many of us, you know, you don't have a lot, but you don't know that because you're like everybody else around you at that time.

And on one end, tragedy, right?

My father leaves my mother homeless, no money, no food, nothing, four kids.

She's never worked a day in her life outside of a home.

And the irony that I hear I would end up as the ninth CEO of one of America's iconic companies.

And now I co-chair this group 110.