HPE Chief Sales Officer Peter Ryan Leaving, President Antonio Neri Steps In While Replacement Search Begins
Hewlett Packard Enterprise is on the lookout for a new sales executive as Peter Ryan plans to step down from his role as the company's chief sales officer.
The imminent departure of Ryan (pictured) was announced Wednesday in a memo to employees from HPE President Antonio Neri. CRN obtained a copy of the memo and HPE verified it as authentic.
Neri, in his memo, said Ryan is leaving the company on September 1 to spend more time with his family.
"Since taking the role of Chief Sales Officer, Peter has continuously been on the road meeting with customers and partners, as well as commuting from the U.S. to the U.K. where his family resides. Peter has made the difficult decision to leave HPE and move back to the U.K. so he can see his family on a more regular basis," he wrote.
Ryan first joined HPE predecessor Hewlett-Packard as senior vice president and general manager for enterprise servers, storage, and networking in the EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa) in 2011, according to his LinkedIn profile.
After rising through the ranks in HP's EMEA operations, he was promoted in July of last year as chief sales officer for all of HPE.
Neri said in his memo that he will take over as interim head of sales, but that he expects to have a new global sales leader in place before the start of HPE's next fiscal year. HPE's current fiscal year ends this October 31.
Neri as interim sales chief will ensure continuity in HPE's channel business, said Chris Case, president of Sequel Data Systems, an Austin, Texas-based solution provider and HPE channel partner. "Neri has been doing well with the channel, and has been keeping things in the right direction with partners," he said.
"[HPE VP and General Manager of U.S. Channel Sales] Terry Richardson and his team have been doing a good job with the channels and carrying out [HPE CEO] Meg Whitman's plans," Case added.
Neri said in his memo that Ryan had played a critical role in driving sales as he led inside sales, channel sales, and alliances for HPE's Enterprise Group.
"Peter has been a champion of our culture and has embodied what it means to partner, innovate and act. We will truly miss him, and I will personally miss our daily interactions and having a dear friend so close at hand," he wrote.