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IBM or the International Business Machines Corp. is all geared up to sponsor the Augusta National Golf Club master’s tournament for the twelfth year which is scheduled for the end of this week. It is reported that this sponsorship is as a time when the CEO of the organization Ginni Rometty is waiting for an invitation to this public association which used to be an all-male organization.
It is said that the organization of Augusta National has invited the CEO of IBM to join the ranking, though it is not essential that they have to take up the job immediately. It was also observed that Rometty who was designated as the first female chief of the organization in the year of 2012 had to go through quite some controversies and debates in relation to the club’s all-male scenario. Pushed under pressure, the organization had to change its rules and had invited two females to join them after the arrangement of last tournament. However Rometty who is 55 years of age was not among the female invitees of the association.
It was speculated that as IBM is the sponsor of the tournament event, there was high chance that Rometty will receive an invitation, says Hayes Roth who is the head marketing officer of the Landor Associates, an organization that is associated with global branding and designing. It is observed that even though IBM is their sponsor, Augusta National is in no hurry to give Rometty a green jacket invitation which is considered as the symbol of membership that is used by this traditional club of 80 years.
Roth says that it can’t be an equally stated issue anymore as they have already admitted some women in their association membership. Presently Augusta is going by its conventional rule as always and they will be gaining nothing by getting trapped in controversies again.
Some of the prominent members of the Augusta National’s comprise of Warren Buffett (the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Inc.), Bill gates (founder of Microsoft Corp.) and many more. It was in the month of March last year that the controversy started regarding the club being an entirely male association, soon after Bloomberg had reported that Rommety’s being the CEO of IBM will create some mystery for the organization. It was speculated that time that the association will either stop providing membership to IBM or have to change its rule of all male group.
In the month of August of previous year, Augusta National ended all controversies and debate by adding two female members to the association, namely Condoleezza Rice who is the secretary of the state and Darla Moore who is a philanthropist. It was in summer that the invitations were forwarded, making it clear that no new member has been included in the group since the last add-on. The spokesman of the Masters Tournament, Steve Ethun, however refused to comment or say anything about this matter and Status of Rometty’s membership.
