HPE To Combine Chief Marketing, Communications Officer Roles As CMO Jim Jackson To Retire
As Jim Jackson, a 26-year HPE and HP veteran, prepares to retire August 1, his responsibilities will be combined with HPE’s chief communications officer under Jennifer Temple, who going forward will be HPE’s executive vice president and chief marketing and communications officer.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise Tuesday said it will combine its chief marketing officer and chief communications officer into a single role as its current CMO, Jim Jackson, plans to retire on August 1.
Jennifer Temple, who has served as HPE’s chief communications officer since 2018, on August 1 will become the company’s new executive vice president and chief marketing and communications officer.
Temple, already a member of HPE’s executive committee, will continue to report to HPE CEO and President Antonio Neri, where she will be in charge of everything related to the company’s global brand, marketing, and communications strategy.
Temple was unavailable to discuss her new role or the retirement of Jackson.
Between Spring, Texas-based HPE and its predecessor company HP, Jackson has spent a total of 26 years at the company over multiple stints that started in 1998. He became chief marketing officer in mid-2018.
Dan Molina, co-president and chief technology officer of Nth Generation Computing, a San Diego-based solution provider and longtime HPE channel partner, told CRN that Jackson deserves kudos for reaching the retirement milestone.
“I think really highly of Jim Jackson,” Molina said. “He’s leaving HPE leaving behind some great accomplishments in marketing messaging. His messaging at Discover was fresh, bold, optimistic onward thinking related to embracing AI. I think it’s making a positive difference, and the world knows more clearly now how serious HPE is in helping clients with their AI journeys regardless of their readiness levels. Jim will be missed.”
Jackson (pictured), in a Tuesday LinkedIn post, wrote that he was proud of the work he was able to accomplish at every level with so many talented and driven people.
“Together we built a world-class Global Marketing team and established the HPE Enterprise brand in the market,” he wrote. “I will miss the many colleagues who have become personal friends and the amazing customers and partners that have made this job so fulfilling. Coming off our biggest and best HPE Discover, I’m excited to start my next chapter at the end of our fiscal year. It’s been a privilege to lead the Global Marketing team and I will be pulling hard for the continued success of Hewlett Packard Enterprise.”
Temple in 2018 joined HPE as chief communications officer. She previously served as senior vice president of corporate communications at Wells Fargo.
Temple, in a prepared statement, said the opportunity to help HPE chart what comes next is thrilling.
“HPE is a brand executive’s dream because purpose comes together with bold innovation and passionate team members,” she said. “To fully become the AI solution partner for any enterprise so we can keep solving the world’s biggest challenges, we are going to need to show up and connect in powerful new ways. This is going to be fun.”
Molina said he has not yet had a chance to get to know Temple, but she appears to be an amazing communications leader with a great deal of key experience.
“I suspect she’ll do well in continuing to effectively spread the word about HPE’s leadership in AI-driven edge and hybrid cloud technologies and solutions,” he said.