Computing News
CEO Enrique Lores: HP’s Business Model Designed For ‘The Channel To Make Money With Us’
Dylan Martin
HP Inc. CEO Enrique Lores talks about why the channel remains a top priority for HP, why he wants partners to sell more from HP’s wider portfolio of products and services and why he’s optimistic about HP’s future with partners. ‘Different from other companies, we have stayed the course. Since I joined the company more than 30 years ago, we have been a channel company. We haven’t moved from that,’ he tells CRN.
Why are you optimistic about the future for HP and its partners?
For multiple reasons. One is, if I look at the multiple opportunities that we have to grow and where the world is going, I see that where the world is going really reinforces … the strategies and the plans that we have. We have talked about hybrid [work] and how hybrid is going to be working. We also have a big business in gaming, which is another business that is going to be growing. We see the need for sustainability and the fact that customers will be willing to buy more and more from companies that are doing the right things. So clearly lots of opportunities to grow.
Second is, even in this difficult period of time, even if headline is ‘crisis’ or whatever, underlying that there are always opportunities. And if you look for the opportunities, you’ll find them. And I think being optimistic helps you to really identify those opportunities and go after them.
And then third: I don’t know if the crisis is going to finish in six months or in a year, but one of the advantages of having gray hair is that I know that the crisis is going to be over. And what is really important is that we ... and our partners invest now to get our companies [positioned] in the strongest possible way for whenever the recovery will happen. And I think staying optimistic, making those investments, understanding that times could be tough now but there are going to be better times and they will be soon and being ready for that is super important.
You said you like to meet with executives of HP’s top partners. Why is that important to you?
It’s a great way for me to ground myself in reality. They are very close to our customers. They see what is happening. They can share what they see from the perspective customers are going. Also, for me, it’s very important to understand: How are we supporting our partners? What are we doing well? What are we not doing well? Where can we improve? And those conversations for me are invaluable. We need to make sure they have everything they need from us. Because if they win, HP wins. And that has been our goal, and we want our partners to win because then we will be winning with them.
