Getting To Know You

John Thompson, formerly HP's vice president and general manager of commercial solutions, Personal Systems Group Americas, takes over as Americas channel chief at a time when HP's channel relations are plagued by logistical and execution problems.

Thompson, who most recently was responsible for channel and direct sales for desktop PCs, notebooks and handhelds, is not widely known by HP partners. But he vowed to raise his profile as quickly as possible.

"I see my new role as a chance to further establish advocacy for the partner business model both inside of HP as well as outside of HP," Thompson said, noting that he plans to hit the road to visit as many partners as he can in coming weeks.

Some solution providers said Thompson already impresses them. "At the minute in time the announcement [of his appointment] went out, he picked up the phone and called me and said that he valued my business," said Mike Cox, president and CEO of Logicalis, Bloomfield Hills, Mich., one of HP's largest enterprise solution providers.

Rick Chernick, president of Camera Corner Connecting Point, an HP solution provider in Green Bay, Wis., noted: "I've known John for two years, and the best part about him is that he listens to the reseller and you can get to him. I'm pumped that he got the promotion and that we can actually talk to a guy who can listen and make changes happen."

Don Richie, CEO of Sequel Data Systems, Austin, Texas, said Thompson is already attacking long-standing channel issues. "He knows there are problems," he said. "We know there are problems. This is an opportunity to get some of these things fixed. I am very optimistic."

Thompson, while saying there would be no immediate changes in HP's channel strategy, laid out a set of short-term priorities for the company's fourth quarter, which ends Oct. 31. "Number one priority is continuing to grow our enterprise and our storage business," he said. "We have looked for input from our partners, and clearly that momentum is critical for HP."

HP's enterprise and storage business posted an operating loss of $208 million for its fiscal third quarter ended July 31. Among the problems are a defective SAP order and processing system called Fusion, which has caused product shipping delays, and a cumbersome eHIP enterprise distribution strategy that solution providers say creates unacceptable delays in getting special pricing bids.

Thompson said the Fusion execution issues should be resolved by the end of the current quarter, and HP is working to clear up special pricing concerns. "We are aware there is an issue with respect to turnaround time [on special bids], and we are looking at addressing and fixing that," he said.

Felise Katz, CEO of pka technologies, an HP enterprise solution provider in Suffern, N.Y., said having an executive not widely known by the channel could be a good thing. "He doesn't bring a lot of baggage," she said. "This is a fresh shot, a fresh look."

Thompson needs to quickly address issues such as bids that require special pricing, Katz said. Currently, it takes her a week to 10 days to get a special pricing quote from HP through her enterprise distributor. "It's widely known in the industry that the IBMs and [Hitachi Data Systems] of the world can turn around a bid in sometimes four or five hours depending on the sense of urgency and the size of the deal," she said.

Other solution providers said one of Thompson's biggest challenges will be re-establishing HP's channel credibility. "If he can't find a way to capture our trust in the channel real quick, it is going to be an uphill road for him," said Pete Busam, vice president and COO of Decisive Business Systems, Pennsauken, N.J. "He's going to have to reach out and make the channel trust him by fighting the battles on everything from commissions to logistics issues."

Chuck Kokoska, president of The Computer Specialists, an HP Gold partner in Whitesboro N.Y., added, "Everything sounds good, but we still have lots of servers on backorder and unknown status on lots of issues like warranty reimbursement."