Eileen Gibson Leaving Broadcom, Retiring After Decades in Channel

Longtime channel leader Eileen Gibson is leaving Broadcom, retiring after a 42-year career in technology. 

July 5 marked Gibson’s last day at Broadcom, which she joined as head of OEM sales and partnerships when the chipmaker acquired VMware late last year. She had only been at VMware since 2022, just before the $61 billion deal was announced. During that time, she led global channel accounts for the multicloud software vendor.

Many partners know Gibson well; she has been part of the indirect channel for more than two decades, and in the tech sector since starting at IBM in 1982. After 12 years at Big Blue, Gibson spent considerable time at companies including Avnet, TechData and the combined TD Synnex — roles that gave her frequent exposure to partners. She also co-founded a consulting firm, Channel Savvy, in 2006, which Avnet bought three years later.

Steve Tepedino, president and CEO of ITPartners, worked with Gibson for more than 25 years.

“I witnessed her growth as a rising star in her early days at Avnet, to a thought leader and co-founder of Channel Savvy, to a true channel champion at VMware and now Broadcom,” Tepedino told Channel Futures. “Eileen has many gifts, but the one that stands out the most is her ability to bring out the best in others.”

Related:The Broadcom VMware Acquisition: A Complete Timeline

IT Partners' Steve Tepedino

Rather than commenting about leaving Broadcom, Gibson pointed Channel Futures to her personal website portfolio as the source of detail around her career. Testimonials include praise from the likes of Avnet CEO Phil Gallagher, IDC Research vice president Leslie Rosenberg, TD Synnex vice president Cheryl Day and Tracy-Ann Palmer, who worked with Gibson at VMware (more on Palmer below), among a number of others.

“[Gibson] is a team player, works well across the organization from business units and globally, and drives collaboration, with ultimate results,” Gallagher says on Gibson’s site.

Palmer notes there, “Eileen has been an incredible business partner, pragmatic, understands the complexities of the channel and how to deliver ROI through the partner ecosystem. She is a great leader and very good at helping others think and act more strategically.”

Gibson further outlines the values that shaped her career: intellectual curiosity, the importance of relationships and honoring commitments.

People Leaving Broadcom

Gibson is just one of the people leaving Broadcom so far in 2024. 

In May, Thomas Hatch, who created the Salt open source project and worked at VMware before the Broadcom takeover, announced his departure.

“VMware was acquired by Broadcom late last year, and now that this process is complete, it makes sense for me to exit Broadcom at this time,” Hatch wrote in a blog. “Despite my efforts, I’ve been struggling to contribute in a way that I feel is rewarding for myself, my team and also Broadcom. Because of this, I have welcomed the opportunity to receive what had been promised to me from the acquisition of SaltStack and be able to leave Broadcom a few months early.”

Contrary to what many other VMware insiders have said to Channel Futures, Hatch praised Broadcom CEO Hock Tan for his handling of the longtime software vendor. 

“During my brief time inside Broadcom I have become a great admirer of Broadcom’s CEO, Hock Tan,” Hatch said. “I feel that he has repeatedly done the right things in the management of VMware and pushed it forward in ways that will ensure the longevity and profitability of VMware products for years to come.”

Again, Gibson and Hatch stand out as just two of the people leaving Broadcom this year. Last week, a senior Kubernetes architect “sadly” announced his pending departure on LinkedIn. And, earlier this year, VMware’s global chief marketing officer, Laura Heisman, said she would be leaving Broadcom. She now runs marketing for Dynatrace. In February, Tracy-Ann Palmer, a well-known name in the channel who shaped much of VMware’s channel strategy, exited Broadcom, too. Palmer still has not shared what her next career steps might be. 

These are not the only VMware by Broadcom employees to sign off since the Broadcom transaction. Not only have there been layoffs, there’s also been a slow trickle of people in various VMware groups, of varying titles, leaving Broadcom. To Channel Futures and online, people have reported unhappiness with Broadcom’s culture and its approach to VMware product and channel streamlining.

“I don’t know what Hock Tan’s deal is, but industry titans are going to be a shadow of themselves with VMware now,” one source recently told us on condition of anonymity.

Channel Futures offers a complete timeline of the Broadcom-VMware transaction and its ripple effects.