HPE Appoints Longtime HPE/HP Vet as Worldwide Distribution Head

Hewlett-Packard Enterprise (HPE) has hired Simon Ewington as its new vice president of worldwide distribution.

Ewington previously was general manager of HP’s graphics solutions business in EMEA. Before that, he was HPE’s vice president of channel sales for EMEA.

HPE’s Simon Ewington

Ewington replaces George Hope as worldwide distribution head. Hope now is worldwide head of partner sales, serving a dual role since his appointment in September.

“As Simon takes over my previous role, I will work closely with him to empower distributors to further monetize and embrace as-a-service selling strategies, while helping our shared channel partners deliver superior business outcomes to customers,” Hope said. “His prior experience at HPE enabling the channel transformation from a transactional to an outcome-focused business, and his track record of driving consistent growth make him a natural leader for our worldwide distribution business.”

Expansive History with HP, HPE

Based in Switzerland, Ewington joined HP nearly 30 years ago. In 2015, HP split into two separate companies, HPE and HP.

“Simon brings deep channel experience and a partner-first approach to this new role,” Hope said. “He is a results-oriented leader with a proven expertise in change management across volume and value categories. He’s consistently demonstrated his ability to drive high-performing teams – both direct and virtual – across international borders, and successfully nurture key customer relationships.”

More than 80% of HPE‘s indirect business goes through distribution.

“I’m confident in Simon’s ability to help drive long-term, sustainable and profitable growth with partners — executing on HPE’s edge-to-cloud platform-as-a-service vision,” Hope said.

The HPE Partner Ready Program for fiscal year 2021 focuses on the partner experience, as-a-service and SMB opportunities. Core program requirements remain unchanged to provide business consistency through the pandemic.

The new program, which runs through Oct. 31, is in keeping with the themes at the HPE Virtual Distribution Partner Conference, held last September. At that time, HPE discussed how partners can grow with as-a-service opportunities in the SMB market, in particular.