The Legion of Honour, France’s highest recognition given for merit to individuals who have demonstrated 20 years of civil achievement to the defense and prosperity of France, was awarded to Samuel Palmisano on November 6, 2013. The formal presentation of the insignia of Chevalier de la Legion d’Honneur was presented by Ambassador Francois Delattre on behalf of French President Francois Hollande, at the Residence of France in Washington, DC.
Recognized for his years of “visionary and bold” leadership at IBM, and commitment to innovation and global prosperity, Palmisano humbly accepted the highest-ranking order and decoration in France. The total number of legionnaires cannot exceed 125,000 individuals and includes many leaders from France and elsewhere around the world. Notable Americans having received this prestigious recognition are: President Dwight Eisenhower, Admiral Mike Mullen, Walt Disney, Miles Davis, and Alan Greenspan.
In presenting the award Ambassador Delattre highlighted Sam’s vision and leadership regarding globalization while at IBM, and now as Chairman and Founder of The Center for Global Enterprise (CGE). Palmisano outlined the CGE’s planned cooperation with INSEAD to conduct a CEO Exchange in mid-2014. Like the CEO Exchanges scheduled for December, 2013 in China and early 2014 in the US, the INSEAD-CGE collaboration is designed to gather management best practices from Europe’s leading companies. These will contribute to the CGE’s Worldwide Reference Library.
Palmisano’s full remarks can be found here.
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