A shift in the corporate culture of HP delivers a distinctive Australian flavour to the top management that can only benefit the local industry.
Mike Boyle’s recent ascension to the regional heights of HP as vice president and general manager of the HP Graphic Solutions Business in Asia Pacific and Japan is only the latest appointment to give the company a distinct Aussie flavour. From his base in Singapore he will be reporting to Richard Bailey, well-known company identity originally from WA, who is now senior vice president, WW Customer Support & Services, Printing & Personal Systems in the USA. Further up in the HP corporate stratosphere is another Australian, Dion Weisler, future president and CEO, HP Inc, currently executive vice president of Printing and Personal Systems, who came up as a science graduate from Monash University.
Together the trio exercise remarkable influence over the one of the largest technology suppliers to the printing industry not only in the region but also in Bailey and Weisler’s case, the world. While Mike Boyle cautions against reading too much into the coincidence, he admits that it gives the local printing industry an unprecedented level of status as well as ready access to the decision makers that matter.
“For me, getting an opportunity for a role like this is incredible. It's a really strong statement to the industry that an Australian is being promoted to run APJ. Certainly from HP history, it’s the first time. So we‘ve gone from a Dutchman [Guido van Prag] to an Australian,” he said.
He describes the likely benefit to local customers of the corporate giant as, “a halo effect.”
“It stands to reason there’s some positives there because of my connectedness in the region. People will say, ‘isn’t it great there’s an Australian sitting there.’ The speed I can interact with the team here is faster because there’s a common ground and understanding about the Australian and New Zealand market. And of course, I’ve 20 years of history with customers here as well. That’s something I love,” he said.
Boyle is no stranger to the corporate heights, having spent four years in The Netherlands as international marketing director for Océ in wide format. He came back last year to take on the top role in production printing for Canon Australia, before being tapped by executive recruiters to move across to HP.
“My experience as international marketing director for wide format was something that was attractive to HP. They like the international dynamic, understanding different cultures and different markets. The nice thing as APJ is that it's such a diverse region; every country has its own nuances and challenges. It’s not a one size fits all,” he said.
The breadth of graphics products from HP and its different corporate marketing strategy has seen Boyle spend this first eight weeks with the company basically flying around the 15 or so countries he’s now got responsibility for, including Japan and China. It's what he terms “getting under the hood.”
He is full of praise for the Currie Group’s track record in promoting HP Indigo technology in Australia and New Zealand. He makes the point that the local market has one of the highest levels of penetration per capita anywhere in the world.
“Currie Group is by far the best performer in the world. They were one of the first getting in and really driving the [digital] market, which is a very positive thing. It would be nice to replicate the model but every market has its different nuances.”
He nominates the fact that HP owns all its core technologies as one of the reasons why he hitched his future to its star. From HP Indigo to the inkjet print head technology, from wide format to high-speed printing he is enthusiastic about the scope and the graphic arts potential of the brand
“They are walking the talk in terms of investment. They own every single core print technology, end to end. They’ve built the base that will drive investment for the future, and that will drive growth for the industry.“