HP Hopes Restructuring Will Accelerate Growth

Hewlett-Packard will combine the three separate hardware units within its Enterprise Systems Group into a single business unit, the company said Friday. As part of the reorganization, HP is also creating a new operations group to oversee the Enterprise Systems Group's strategic planning, marketing, and business operations.

"The objective behind this is to accelerate growth," says executive VP Peter Blackmore, who oversees the Enterprise Systems Group. The new hardware unit, called Enterprise Storage and Servers, combines the former Business Critical Systems, Industry Standard Servers, and Network Storage Solutions under the management of senior VP Scott Stallard. The move brings HP's Unix, Windows, OpenVMS, and NonStop servers and StorageWorks storage systems under a common umbrella.

As part of the shakeup, senior VP Airton Gimenes will assume responsibility for global accounts, reporting to both Blackmore and Ann Livermore, executive VP of HP Services. "The purpose is to strengthen our record on global accounts," Blackmore says. "We have a huge opportunity here."

VP Bob Schultz will lead HP's storage business, taking over from senior VP Howard Elias, who moves over to manage the new Business Management and Operations group. Mary McDowell, who had been in charge of Industry Standard Servers, will take a leave of several weeks and return to an unspecified senior VP position. The changes did not affect HP's software unit, which also reports to Blackmore.