HP repositions brand with former SAP chief

Hewlett-Packard Co (HP) has hired former SAP AG marketing executive Marty Homlish to lead HP's global marketing efforts, as chief executive Leo Apotheker continues to put his management team in place to drive growth. Apotheker, who formerly helmed SAP, is trying to galvanize HP's sprawling divisions and expand its software business to boost margins.

The addition of former SAP marketing executive Homlish should bolster its software effort. As executive vice president and chief marketing officer, Homlish will oversee and lead marketing across HP, reporting directly to Apotheker, the company said. Homlish, who helped double SAP's brand value, will help HP unify its marketing approach to "present 'one HP' to the market," Apotheker said in a statement. He was at SAP for 10 years, more recently as global chief marketing officer and at Sony (SNE) for 15 years prior to that.

HP's newly minted CEO has focused on the software business, calling it the "glue" of the sprawling computing giant's operations and has said he wants to restore HP's reputation for innovation -- a reputation stemming from its early days as a founding father of Silicon Valley - and invest in research.

The software division now accounts for less than 3 percent of revenue. Apotheker is also under pressure to appease investors and fend off a clutch of rivals ranging from Oracle Corp to IBM. HP's share price has dwindled since former CEO Mark Hurd -- a cost-cutter popular with shareholders -- left the company. Homlish replaces Michael Mendenhall who resigned from the company in January after four years in the role.

His resignation followed the high-profile executive of H-P’s chief executive Mark Hurd who left the company after an investigation found he had violated the business’ conduct standards.

HP is trying to tap into the growing appetite for cloud internet and mobile computing rather than just relying on PC sales. The company’s latest quarterly revenue figures, up 3.2% to $32.2bn (£19.6bn), fell short of analysts’ forecasts as consumer demand for PCs fell.

The firm is to launch a range of consumer and business products this year, including the roll-out its first tablet, the TouchPad, which is reported to come with a pre-installed cloud-based music streaming service. The launch of the cloud-based music locker would beat Apple and Google, who are also reportedly working on similar services, to the market. Separately, HP’s executive vice president for enterprise business sales and marketing left the company 19^th April to “pursue other interests”. He will be replaced by Jan Zadak, currently HP managing director for EMEA.