HP Shakes Up StorageWorks Division With Appointment Of Former 3PAR CEO

Hewlett-Packard has named Dave Scott, the ex-president and CEO of 3PAR, as the new head of the HP StorageWorks Division.

Dave Donatelli, executive vice president and general manager for HP's Enterprise Servers, Storage and Networking (ESSN) group, told ESSN and 3PAR employees on September 27 that Scott was appointed head of StorageWorks, replacing Dave Roberson, who has been in that position for the last three years.

The change in StorageWorks leadership coincided with the date that HP formally closed the acquisition of 3PAR after a short but intense bidding war with Dell

Donatelli announced the change in StorageWorks leadership in a letter marked "HP and 3PAR Restricted - Internal Use Only." HP has not yet publically announced the change.

In the letter, Donatelli welcomed Scott as the new leader of the HP StorageWorks Division, praising Scott for guiding 3PAR through the development and introduction of storage designed for utility and cloud computing. He also wrote that Scott has 26 years of storage industry experience, including time he spent at HP in the past as the general manager of HP's XP enterprise storage business.

Next: What About Roberson?

Donatelli also praised Roberson for his three years of leadership of HP StorageWorks, where he expanded the company's storage portfolio with the acquisitions of LeftHand Networks and IBRIX, and pushed the development of HP's StoreOnce dedupe technology. "Dave Roberson's next role in HP will be announced separately," Donatelli wrote.

Roberson joined HP in mid-2007 after 26 years at Hitachi Data Systems. His last position at HDS was president and CEO.

An HP solution provider, who asked to remain anonymous, said it was no surprise that Roberson was finally getting "shot."

"It's very interesting that David Scott, from 3PAR, will be taking over," the solution provider said. "Look at what his heritage was. So Donatelli wanted more than just the 3Par IP. He wanted a new head of Storage."

HP did not respond to a request for more information about Scott's official title or Roberson's current position.

Next: The Text Of Donatelli's Letter

Here is the complete text of Donatelli's letter in regards to Roberson being replaced by Scott:

TO/ All Enterprise Servers, Storage and Networking (ESSN) / 3PAR Employees FROM/ Dave Donatelli, Executive Vice President & General Manager, ESSN DATE/ September 27, 2010

SUBJECT/ Announcing the close of HP’s 3PAR acquisition HP and 3PAR Restricted – Internal Use Only

Today begins a new chapter for both 3PAR and HP with the exciting news that the HP acquisition of 3PAR has officially closed. The combination of 3PAR with our current storage portfolio creates many new opportunities for HP in the storage market. We now have a comprehensive storage portfolio that positions HP as a leading technology provider in the high growth market segments.

As the integration efforts begin, I would like to welcome David Scott as the new leader of HP StorageWorks Division (SWD). As President and CEO, David guided 3PAR through the development and introduction of Utility Storage, a new category of storage designed for utility and cloud computing. During his tenure, 3PAR has grown into a global company serving large- and medium-sized enterprises, government agencies, and service providers around the world. David has 26 years of experience in the enterprise storage, software, and server market. He was previously the general manager of HP's XP enterprise storage business and held various marketing, business strategy, sales and systems engineering positions in HP’s enterprise server, software and storage businesses both in the U.S. and the U.K.

I would like to thank Dave Roberson for his leadership of the StorageWorks Division the last three years. Under his direction, SWD expanded the product portfolio through the acquisitions of LeftHand Networks and IBRIX, as well as the development of new technologies such as StoreOnce. Dave Roberson’s next role in HP will be announced separately.

3PAR represents the best new technology in the industry and this strategic move will enable HP to deliver the most innovative and complete Converged Infrastructure solution in the market.

Let’s all continue to work hard and focus on delivering a great quarter for HP and our customers.

Cheers, Dave>/i>