Expect Changes In McAfee, HP Channel Leadership

The past year hasn't been good for McAfee, the No. 2 antivirus company -- at least from a management and public relations perspective. It's had executive shake-ups from the CEO office through marketing to its channel leadership. As they say, change is constant, and McAfee partners should be expecting yet another change in McAfee's channel program. At this time every year, VARBusiness and sister publication CRN each compiles directories of the top channel executives, giving you -- our readers -- a resource for understanding who is driving channel strategy and execution at the leading IT vendors. McAfee will be conspicuously absent from both lists this year, per McAfee, as it awaits organizational changes throughout the company.

While no one is saying David Dickison is out as head of McAfee's channels, it's curious that McAfee isn't willing to publicize his leadership.

Now, is this a dire prediction for Dickison? It's hard to say. McAfee is definitely trying to avoid the PR nightmare it had last year when David Roberts was hoisted as the channel leader on both VARBusiness' Top 100 Channel Executives and CRN's Channel Chiefs lists, only to have him jump ship to join former McAfee president Gene Hodges at Websense. Dickison could continue to serve as McAfee's channel chief, but the company's silence raises many questions.

So let's recount the McAfee leadership meltdown. Hodges left early last year to take up the reins at Websense, and he brought Roberts with him. Marketing guru Larry McIntosh bailed out to take a strategic role at a Southern California security start-up. CEO George Samenuk retired. And president Kevin Weiss was fired last fall amid a stock option backdating scandal.

Dale Fuller, a former Borland executive who joined the McAfee board a year ago, is still serving as interim CEO and president. But McAfee's signals regarding its channel chief could also indicate another change in the corner office.

Expect news on a McAfee reorganization to come within the next month.

Speaking of leadership changes, Hewlett-Packard still hasn't replaced John Thompson, who gave up the Americas channel chief post last October to become vice president and general manager of the company's newly created worldwide workstation business unit. In the interim, Jim McDonnell, senior vice president and general manager of HP's Solution Partners Organization worldwide, is overseeing the Americas while the company searches for a Thompson replacement.

When HP announced Thompson's promotion, it promised a vigorous search for the right executive to take over its sprawling Americas channel. While the company hasn't said much publicly, it has been pounding the streets. We hear from several channel executives (many names you would recognize) from other leading programs that they've been contacted by HP about the job.

HP won't comment on the search but indicate an announcement could come as early as the middle of February. Stay tuned.