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Johanna Koester
IBM Director (Retired) | Work-life Balance Advocate | Diversity & Inclusion Champion | Coach & Mentor
Johanna Koester is a retired IBM professional with an extensive career spanning nearly 34 years at the company.2 During her time at IBM, she held significant roles in developer advocacy and leadership.
Career Highlights
Johanna's career at IBM was marked by several notable achievements:
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Developer Advocacy Leadership: She served as the Director of Worldwide Developer Advocacy for IBM.4 In this role, she led a diverse and talented team of developer advocates around the globe, which she considered the absolute highlight of her work at IBM.3
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Developer Offering Management: Johanna gained experience in managing developer offerings, contributing to IBM's engagement with the developer community.1
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Open Source Strategy: She was involved in open source software strategy and execution, aligning with IBM's commitment to open technologies.1
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Community Building: Johanna played a significant role in building and nurturing developer communities, fostering collaboration and innovation.1
Advocacy and Values
Beyond her professional responsibilities, Johanna is known for her strong advocacy in several areas:
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Women in Tech: She is a vocal supporter of women in the technology industry.4
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Diversity and Inclusion: Johanna champions diversity and inclusion initiatives, both within IBM and in the broader tech community.4
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Work-Life Balance: As indicated by her current title, she advocates for maintaining a healthy work-life balance.
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Mentorship: Her role as a coach and mentor suggests a commitment to developing and supporting others in their careers.
Retirement and Legacy
Johanna Koester officially retired from IBM on July 25, 2022, after a career spanning nearly 34 years.2 Her retirement marked the end of a significant chapter in her professional life, one that she had long imagined and planned for.2
Throughout her career, Johanna has been known for her leadership in developer advocacy, her commitment to diversity and inclusion, and her efforts in fostering a supportive and innovative tech community. Her impact at IBM and in the wider technology sector continues to be felt through the initiatives she championed and the professionals she mentored and inspired.
Highlights
After nearly 34 years at IBM, I am officially retired. I have imagined and planned for this period of my life as long as I can remember yet it’s almost surreal to reach this goal of financial independence and early retirement. Those who know me well will not be too surprised, work life balance has always been a priority for me and something I have promoted for anyone who worked around me. I strongly believe that achieving your personal definition of work life balance is not only important for physical and mental health but for building resilience and career success. For me personally, reaching this milestone means I can finally achieve what I consider to be the ultimate work life balance, much more time for family, friends, travel and hobbies that I could only have skimmed the surface of until now.
As I stand on this retirement precipice, ready for quality time back into my life, I also realize that it’s harder to say goodbye than I envisioned. It’s so cliché but true, the hardest part is leaving the daily engagements with so many wonderful friends and colleagues.Through the best and worst of times, it was always these close relationships that saw us through the challenges and ultimately bonded us for life. Those same people made my last weeks and days at IBM so so special with their well wishes and organized celebrations - thank you from the bottom of my heart! I hope you all know that I will always be in your corner and available to lend support when needed. Reach out anytime - coaching, counseling, a shoulder... happy to lend a hand. Until then, I encourage all of my colleagues to take care of yourselves and also one another just as I’ve always endeavored to model at work. Even when under stress remember to lead with kindness and empathy, fulfillment and success can really be that simple. When you strive to lead with kindness and seek to understand other viewpoints, it will benefit you and those around you both personally and professionally.
What’s next? “Phase 1” which means vacation and rest (see TED talk on "4 phases of retirement" for more info on that). If you want to see what this looks like, I’ve been posting to @cirrus.ly.peaceful on instagram since my last day of work when my husband and I hit the road cross country in our truck camper. Regarding phases 2-4, we shall see how it goes, I hope to stop by LinkedIn occasionally to share my musings on this retirement journey.
May the force be with you, Johanna
The absolute highlight of my work at IBM has been leading such a diverse and talented team of developer advocates around the world AND the absolute highlight of my day (really week/month/year!) was participating in today's DEG Culture call featuring the rich cultures of Africa, India, Egypt and Haiti - thank you Sbusiso Mkhombe Binu Midhun Myrna Gamal Fahim and Sabine C. Justilien for giving so generously of your time today, I learned so much! Thank you also to our dedicated culture leaders Brandy Byrd Asna Javed and Elaine Granoff for organizing our culture series, I'm forever grateful!
