Ravi Swaminathan quits HP

After 15 years of service with HP India, Ravi Swaminathan, President-Personal
System Group (PSG) division has put in his papers. Oct 31, 2009 is reportedly
said to be his last working day with the company.

Under Swaminathan, HP grew to become a market leader in the PC space. Not
only is he is well-known in the industry, he is also very well-respected. The
news of his exit has brought in much apprehension in the channel space. From
dealers in the metros to those in B and C-class cities, Swaminathan had a very
close relationship with the channel.

Recalling his interaction with Swaminathan, Naresh Lalwani of Cybernet IT,
Pune said, “He was very close to the channel, since the time he was in the
consumer products division. He knew our problems and made sure HP was a
channel-oriented vendor. I do foresee an impact on the channels post his exit.
He was here for a long time and the channel fraternity knew him well.”

Confirming the news, Ajaya Kumar of Park Network, New Delhi said, “It is a
big company, so in the short term, we do not see a major impact. Swaminathan's
policies will continue to be implemented. However, we have not got any
communication yet on who the successor will be. So in the long run, there is a
lot of uncertainty.”

Conveying the same apprehension, Sudhir Budhay of Business Algorithms, Nagpur
said, “HP is a huge company and is stable as long as the policies are adhered
into the business. But we want to know who is replacing him and if the person
will be as efficient as Swaminathan. At our level, this is very important. We
operate in a small city like Nagpur, yet we shared good relations with him. We
have been loyal to HP because of him and his subordinates. We have heard that
with Swaminathan a few of his subordinates are also expected to move out.”

According to sources, Swaminathan will now be exploring a few options like
starting his own venture or joining EMC India.

Despite repeated attempts to get a comment from Swaminathan, he remained
unavailable. HP also refused to confirm any news of who would come as his
replacement.