Dive Brief:

• Hewlett-Packard Enterprise appointed Marie Myers, CFO of computer and electronics company Hewlett-Packard Inc, as its next finance chief, according to a recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
• Myers, who has served a combined 20-year tenure at both HPE and HP Inc. in various executive positions, will officially transition to her role as CFO of the Spring, Texas-based HPE effective Jan. 15, according to the filing. She played a key role as finance lead for HP’s separation in 2015, when Hewlett-Packard split into two distinct entities — its corporate hardware and service businesses have operated as HPE since the split, while HP Inc. took its consumer computer and printer business, according to a 2015 report by Reuters.
• The company will look to draw on Myers’ financial expertise as it struggles to shake off slumping IT spending heading into the new year. Myers is “a strategic and visionary CFO known for making financial decisions that fuel innovation and performance,” HPE CEO and President Antonio Neri said in statement included in a Friday press release. “She has an impressive track record in driving both operational and financial results, and she embraces the opportunity to help teams excel.”

Dive Insight:

Myers, 55, will succeed HPE CFO Tarek Robbiati, who resigned from the position in August, with the company’s board appointing their chief tax officer, Jeremy Cox, as interim CFO, according to an August company filing. Cox will continue to serve in an interim CFO capacity for HPE before transitioning back to his position as SVP, corporate controller, chief tax officer and principal accounting office when Myers takes the CFO role as of the effective date in January.

In her capacity as CFO, Myers will receive an initial base salary of $850,000, and will also be eligible for an annual bonus opportunity of up to 150% of that base. She will also receive a one-time cash award of $1 million, 50% of which will be paid after the effective date with the remainder payable in the next year, according to the company filing.   

Myers has served as CFO of HP Inc. since February 2021, previously serving stints as chief transformation officer and chief digital officer for the company, according to her LinkedIn profile. 

Meanwhile, Tim Brown, SVP of finance, CFO Print at HP Inc. will step in as interim CFO for the consumer computer and hardware provider, according to an HP spokesperson. Brown will work closely with Myers to ensure a smooth transition, and the company is conducting a search for both internal and external candidates as it looks for a permanent successor.

“Marie has devoted 25 years of her career to our company and we are grateful for the lasting impact she has made,” an HP Inc. spokesperson said in a statement via email. “We wish her continued success as she starts a new chapter.”

HPE has a market cap of approximately $21.4 billion, while HP Inc. has a market cap of $30.1 billion. However, the CFO move comes as both companies attempt to shake off the impacts of economic headwinds leading into the New Year.

Companies have cut back on IT spending in the face of persistent inflation, leading HPE to forecast weaker-than-expected earnings for its first fiscal quarter of 2024, according to the company’s full-year fiscal 2023 earnings report.  

HPE reported revenues of $7.3 billion for its fourth quarter of fiscal 2023, down 7% year-over-year, while revenues for its largest — and historically its most profitable — compute segment fell 31% from the prior period to $2.6 billion. The company anticipates first quarter fiscal 2024 revenue in the range of $6.9 billion to $7.3 billion.

Full year and quarterly results were strong given the “uneven IT market,” Cox said in a statement included in the earnings report, with the company seeing “promising indicators of continued demand in the areas of the market we are prioritizing, especially in AI.”

Meanwhile, Palo Alto, California-based HP Inc. has also faced challenges related to slumping PC sales amid consumers; the company reported an 8% dip in revenue year-over-year for its personal systems segment to $9.4 billion, while printing net revenue slumped 3% to $4.4 billion, according to the company’s earnings report. Overall fourth quarter revenue for its fiscal fourth quarter dipped 6% from the prior year period to $13.8 billion.

HP Inc. is “entering FY24 with a relentless focus on driving profitable growth, reducing our structural costs and returning 100% of our free cash flow to shareholders,” Myers said in a statement included in the earnings release of the company’s results.

HPE did not immediately respond to requests for comment.