VMware Names Former HP Veteran to Public Sector Top Post

VMware (VMW) has upped Lynn Martin, formerly the virtualization vendor’s Public Sector Services and Solutions vice president and a 29-year Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) veteran, to head its U.S. Public Sector group, according to a published report.

Martin, who has been with VMware for about a year, is tasked with driving cloud and virtualization technology adoption among local, state and federal government agencies. According to VMware, she is regarded as a staunch channel advocate focused on leveraging partners to grow and scale VMware’s public sector business. She recently addressed partners at VMware’s Public Sector Partner Exchange 2013, held in McLean, Va., in mid-April.

From her background, it is clear Martin is well-suited for the job. In her prior VMware role, she handled professional services and cloud management sales. Immediately prior to joining VMware, Martin served as HP’s Federal Civilian Agencies vice president and general manager, handling federal sales across the civilian sectors, and driving profitable revenue growth and customer satisfaction. Martin also has worked in the public sector practices of former IT heavyweights Compaq and Digital Equipment.

She will work out of the company’s new East Coast briefing center and education center of excellence. Two months ago VMware moved to new, expanded office space to better accommodate the vendor’s growth in the public sector—VMware’s public sector sales have grown from $8 million in 2004 to $500 million in 2012, prompting the need for a larger physical space in which to work.

Some 135 VMware employees work in the vendor’s public sector unit and its previous 6,000-square-foot location has grown a bit crowded. At 51,000 square feet, the new office will be able to house more than 200 employees and also double as VMware’s East Coast briefing center. As government travel budgets have experienced cutbacks, the public sector group needed a suitable facility to host potential and existing customers, which VMware believes will help its public sector sales efforts.