Phil Davis
The president of the hybrid IT division at Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), Phil Davis, has handed in his resignation and will be relocating to Australia.
Davis has been with HPE for the past five years, starting out as the Asia Pacific vice president and general manager of the storage division of the enterprise group, before moving through the ranks as president of its hybrid IT division.
Davis informed the HPE board of his decision to voluntarily resign on 23 April, with his resignation coming into effect on 1 May.
“Phil has accepted a role outside the company that gives him the opportunity to relocate to Australia,” HPE told sister publication ARN in a statement.
“He decided the time was right for his family to make this move, and he leaves with our gratitude for all he helped make possible at HPE. Over the last two years, the hybrid IT businesses have introduced compelling new products, enhanced team member engagement, improved customer satisfaction, and increased profitability."
As a result of Davis’ departure, HPE said it was evaluating ‘options for the operating model’ that will best allow the vendor to provide customers and partners with unique hybrid technology experiences, delivered as-a-service.
In early April, HPE designated more than US$2 billion in financing to help customers overcome cash flow and liquidity challenges related to Covid-19, forming part of a global stimulus package.
Delivered through the vendor’s financial services division - HPE Financial Services - the Payment Relief Program is designed to help customers acquire new technology while alleviating financial strain, through deferred payment plans and buy-back initiatives.
The move came amid rising concern within the channel across Asia Pacific that financially challenged customers continue to severely impact the ecosystem. As revealed via a special report - Protecting partners during Covid-19 - tier-2 providers are especially at risk as end-users struggle to meet payment terms, placing enormous strain on the supply chain.
“We are all seeing the global impact of the Covid-19 pandemic grow each day,” said Antonio Neri, president and CEO of HPE. “We are doing everything we can to address the needs and concerns of our customers and partners.”
According to Neri, the vendor is “actively working” to mitigate such impact from an operational perspective, with a particular focus on streamlining distribution through the channel.
“Long before Covid-19, we took steps to diversify our supply chain and we are working closely with more than 200 suppliers to optimise how we build and distribute our products,” Neri added. “Our response framework focuses on assessing developments, addressing the needs of our people and business operations, and adapting our business activities to help the world tackle this crisis.”
(Additional reporting by James Henderson)
