"An IBM Fellow is an appointed position at IBM made by IBM\u2019s CEO. Typically only four to nine (eleven in 2014) IBM Fellows are appointed each year, in May or June. It is the highest honor a scientist, engineer, or programmer at IBM can achieve.The IBM Fellows program was founded in 1962 by Thomas Watson Jr., as a way to promote creativity among the company\u2019s \u201Cmost exceptional\u201D technical professionals. The first appointments were made in 1963."@en .