Phil Davis Is Stepping Aside As HPE Hybrid IT President

‘With Phil’s departure, we are evaluating options for the operating model that will best allow us to provide our customers and partners with unique hybrid technology experiences, delivered as a service,’ says HPE.

Phil Davis, who oversees the $23 billion hybrid IT business for Hewlett Packard Enterprise, is stepping down to accept a new position with an unnamed company.

HPE said that Davis, who took the HPE Hybrid IT president post a little more than two years ago, has accepted a role outside the company that gives him the opportunity to relocate to Australia where his wife and two children have been living.

“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,” said HPE in a statement to CRN. “Over the last two years, the Hybrid IT businesses have introduced compelling new products, enhanced team member engagement, improved customer satisfaction, and increased profitability.”

In a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission 8-K filing, HPE said that on April 23 Davis informed the company of his decision to “voluntarily resign” effective May 1.

In the wake of Davis’ departure, HPE is expected to announce a new organizational structure in the next several weeks.

“With Phil’s departure, we are evaluating options for the operating model that will best allow us to provide our customers and partners with unique hybrid technology experiences, delivered as a service,” said HPE.

Davis top lieutenants including HPE Chief Sales Officer Heiko Meyer, HPE GreenLake General Manager Keith White, a Microsoft cloud superstar who joined the company just five months ago; HPE Pointnext General Manager Pradeep Kumar; HPE General Manager of Compute Neil MacDonald; and HPE General Manager of Storage Tom Black will all report to HPE CEO Antoni Neri on an interim basis.

Paul Cohen, vice president of sales for New York-based PKA Technologies Inc., one of HPE's original Platinum partners, said Davis helped lay the foundation for a massive HPE sales shift to the GreenLake consumption pay per use service along with creative HPE Financial Services’ offers that are taking hold.

“Phil was a great champion of the channel,” said Cohen. “I am sure that we are going to see Antonio building upon his as a service vision with a new structure that accelerates the consumption sales momentum that Phil built up as we navigate through these uncertain times.”

Cohen said he expects “swift and decisive” moves from Neri aimed at stepping up HPE’s all out charge to deliver the entire HPE portfolio as a service by 2022.

The coronavirus pandemic has made the shift to as a service with GreenLake and the $2 billion HPE Financial Services payment relief program even more compelling for customers, said Cohen.

“I think we are going to see some very aggressive moves by Antonio to accelerate the as a service model,” he said. “This is going to get the entire HPE sales force behind the GreenLake model.”

PKA, for its part, is seeing a marked increase in GreenLake pay per use sales pipeline in the wake of the pandemic. “Customers are very keen on preserving capital through GreenLake and creative financing,” he said. “With HPE’s leading technology portfolio and Antonio’s aggressive sales vision the channel community is in a great position.”