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• Marta Martínez: “Artificial intelligence for companies is very different from artificial intelligence for consumers”

• During her talk, Ms. Martínez explained that IBM is leading the development of artificial intelligence for companies, with more than 20,000 projects already carried out


19th February 2019 — “Leading companies are going to become cognitive companies, a new business architecture based on new technological capacities,” declared Marta Martínez, General Manager of IBM for Spain, Portugal, Greece and Israel, at the most recent session of Matins ESADE, sponsored by Bluecap and organised in collaboration with La Vanguardia.

“Cognitive companies will take advantage of all their data, develop platforms to create new business models with their external ecosystem, and will take part in a continuous learning process with professionals who, supported by artificial intelligence, will provide a constant flow of improvement and innovation to all of their workflows and operations, both in the back office and in their interactions with customers,” commented Ms. Martínez.

“Artificial intelligence for companies is very different from artificial intelligence for consumers,” observed Ms. Martínez. “Artificial intelligence for companies has to be trained in areas that are highly specialised for each company and sector,” she added. “It has to help make complex decisions in a way that is integrated with business processes. It has to be extremely secure, and it also has to be ethical, transparent and explainable.”

The General Manager of IBM for Spain, Portugal, Greece and Israel insisted that “artificial intelligence must not be a black box”. In other words, she explained, “If a solution of this sort cannot explain the data and criteria it uses to make its decisions, then it should not be used.”

Leading development for companies
Ms. Martínez then discussed her own company’s efforts in this field: “IBM is leading the development of artificial intelligence for companies, with more than 20,000 projects already carried out and a huge push in the area of R&D.” She added: “IBM has more than 8,000 artificial intelligence patents – more than any other company in the world, and 70% more than the closest competitor.”

During her presentation, Ms. Martínez also discussed some of IBM’s latest projects, including Project Debater, an initiative of IBM Research that is developing the first artificial intelligence system capable of debating humans.

“The artificial intelligence age is not the age of machine intelligence; it’s the age of our own intelligence amplified by technological capabilities,” she concluded.


Marta Marínez, president of IBM Spain, Portugal, Greece and Israel, will be the keynote speaker at the forthcoming Matins ESADE talk entitled ''Digital change: the cornerstones and challenges of a new era''.

As digital change enters a new era it needs to be able to create more value and innovation and a greater competitive edge. The recent shift towards cloud computing has only reached 20% of its potential. Approximately 80% of companies are implementing or considering AI projects but only 4% already use AI to optimise their business projects. What are the technological, cultural and social factors essential for this leap forward? Marta Martínez

President IBM Spain, Portugal, Greece and Israel

Marta Martínez Alonso has been the president of IBM Spain, Portugal, Greece and Israel since January 2013.

Prior to that, from January 2012 onwards, she was the managing director of IBM Global Technology Services in Spain, Portugal, Greece and Israel, responsible for IBM’s technology service business in those four markets.

Previously, since 2006, she had been the vice president of the IBM sales organisation in Spain, Portugal, Greece and Israel, in charge of IBM sales and liaison with customers in their main business areas.

Marta Martínez’s career has been linked to IBM since 2003, the year she started work as an executive in their communications division in Spain and Portugal.

In 2008, she was assigned to the IBM HQ in USA as vice president of service infrastructure sales around the globe.

Married with three children, Marta holds a BSc in mathematics from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid and PADE (senior business management programme) from IESE.

Language: Spanish

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