I don’t think the New Year 2016 could have started off any better than to announce the hire of Mary Ann Yule as the new Managing Director of HP Canada Co., the Printing and Personal Systems side of the previous HP.
For starters it would have been a difficult task trying to replace the beloved Lloyd Bryant who announced his retirement on Christmas Eve of 2015. I personally did not see this one coming. I expected a U.S. executive to be drop-shipped at HP Inc. Canada.
But I have to give the organization credit for hiring the right person for this high profile job. Yule has all the right requirements. She knows how to sell HP products. She and her team at CDW Canada did an outstanding job of that on a daily basis.
Mary Ann understands the channel extremely well as the GM of CDW Canada. She knows what it’s like to be at a vendor with Toshiba Canada. She knows what it’s like to work at a distributor with Tech Data Canada. This kind of experience is unmatched and those senior leaders at HP have to be given a lot of credit for recognizing this unique type of experience and make the decision to place her in charge.
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At let’s not forget Yule knows how to build a business. She did it with CDW Canada; in a five year stretch she took the solution provider, backed by a talented team, from outside the CDN Top 10 list to the No. 1 spot for the last two years.
This is a critical point as HP split its two major businesses late last year. HP Inc. in its first year in the Canadian market I believe needed someone who understands this market and all of its quirky little nuances such as Quebec.
And, as a Canadian she also brings a lot of the intangibles as a leader. She can drive the diversity agenda. She can wave the HP flag through-out the IT community. She’ll be on all the boards like ITAC.
Lastly Mary Ann Yule is a known commodity in this marketplace; a person who is well-liked, well-regarded as an executive and well-respected both inside HP and outside.
One quick hit before I go. The return of Nick Tidd. Yes Nick Tidd is back in action as the new vice president of its Global Partner Organization for Polycom.
Tidd left Condusiv Technologies last year and took some time off before landing this job. Tidd is a friend of CDN and we wish him the very best.