HP A/NZ vice-president and managing director Mike Boyle was recently promoted to the role of global head of large format, with Boyle telling Sprinter that his passion for and background in the trade will support him in this role.
“I’ve always had a background in large format and bring to my new role a deep experience of about 25 years. Large format is certainly something that I know well and love, and I’m excited about where I can help take this business,” he said.
Boyle said he has some wonderful memories from working in A/NZ and that he will continue to monitor the region’s activities in the industry.
“I am always impressed by how the Australian and New Zealand communities come together. It emphasises the sense of community that we’ve got in this industry. I’ve also got many great memories from working in this region. While I’ll soon be overseas, I’ll still be keeping an eye on the Australian markets as well,” he added.
Boyle has been with HP for about seven years, starting off as its vice-president of APAC based in Singapore before taking up the role of vice-president and managing director in A/NZ.
Before joining HP, he spent five years at Canon and eight years with Océ, which Canon acquired in 2010.
In this global role, Boyle will be responsible for all of the go-to-market for HP’s large format machines, including its Latex and DesignJet portfolios.
“These are two different but complementary portfolios. From a technology standpoint, they come from the same R&D environment based in Barcelona,” he said.
“I’ll be working with our category teams on overall pricing, strategy, motion, marketing and the work that we do with our channels since we predominantly use a channel-based model. That means I’ll be involved in formulating programs and helping make sure that we have an effective channel.
“I’ll also be able to get down to the customer level in this role as it’s important to see the business from all aspects.”
In the short-term, Boyle aims to gather an understanding of how HP’s large format customers perceive the business and what it needs to do to support its channel.
“That’s really where a lot of the end-to-end delivery takes place. The second thing will be to assess the next changes that need to be made and looking for areas of opportunities to develop long-term,” he said.
“I also want to build on the sense of connection in the organisation – how does the HP brand resonate with the other businesses who rely on our technology? How can we be a core part of their manufacturing process?
“And ultimately, what we aim to do with HP technology, particularly in the Latex business, is to be that differentiator in terms of sustainability. Yes, there are the positive impacts on our planet, but it also lets our customers be more successful in their businesses.
“Longer term, we have some new products that we want to introduce to the market but more importantly, find out from our customers what are the products of the future that they want to see so that we can deliver on them.”
Boyle is currently still in Australia working across both the A/NZ vice-president and managing director and global head of large format roles until HP names his A/NZ replacement.
He said the company is in the “final stages” of announcing his successor.
“HP A/NZ is very close to announcing the new MD. We expect that to happen before the end of August. I’ll be around to help the new MD with the transition before I head off to Barcelona in September, to be immersed in my new role. I will fully be relocated to Barcelona as of January 2023,” he said.
Comment below to have your say on this story.
If you have a news story or tip-off, get in touch at editorial@sprinter.com.au.
Sign up to the Sprinter newsletter