Martin Fleming

Martin Fleming is a Research Scientist at the MIT CSAIL FutureTech Project and a Fellow of The Productivity Institute, a U.K. research organization exploring what productivity means for business, workers, and communities.

Martin is the former IBM Chief Economist and former IBM Chief Analytics Officer. As IBM’s Chief Economist, Martin provided regular macroeconomic insight and analysis to IBM’s senior leaders and engaged with select IBM clients providing a view of the global economic outlook. Martin shared technology industry developments, insights and forecasts with clients, industry professionals, academics, and policymakers.

Martin also led IBM’s data science profession with the mission to drive the growth and expertise of IBM’s skilled data science professionals whose expertise will ensure success in the cognitive era.

As the Chief Analytics Officer from 2010 to 2019, Martin led IBM’s business model transformation initiatives employing machine learning, artificial intelligence, natural language processing in a cloud computing environment to improve decision making and, as a result, financial performance.

Previously, within IBM Corporate Strategy, Martin led IBM’s Smarter Planet strategy development and execution with a focus on energy, climate change, transportation, water and Smarter Cities.

Martin is the former Chief Revenue Scientist, Varicent, a Toronto-based sales-performance management software provider. Martin is also a researcher at the MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Martin is a Fellow of the National Association for Business Economics recognized for outstanding performance as a business economist, contribution to the field of business economics, and service to NABE.

Martin is a member and former chair of the Conference of Business Economists. He is also a member of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago’s Economist Roundtable. Martin was a member of the Federal Economic Statistics Advisory Committee and a member of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Fintech Advisory Committee. Martin is a participant in the Brookings Productivity Measurement Initiative, organized by David Wessel and chaired by Janet Yellen.

Prior to joining IBM, Martin was a Principal Consultant with Abt Associates, Cambridge Massachusetts. He was also Vice President, Strategy for Reed-Elsevier, Inc., the Anglo-Dutch information company. Martin began his professional career at the System Dynamics Group, Alfred P. Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Martin holds a Ph.D. and an M.A. in Economics from Tufts University and a B.S. cum laude in Mathematics from University of Massachusetts Lowell.