HP’s newly appointed UK&I boss says she’s “itching” to return to the UK after more than two decades carrying out US-based, global roles for the PC and print giant.
Ruth Patterson has been appointed as Vice President and Managing Director for UK&I, effective 1 February.
During a near 30-year career at HP, Patterson has carried out various global leadership roles, including most recently as VP and Category Lead for HP’s Advanced Compute Solutions division.
“I can’t wait – I’m itching,” Patterson told IT Channel Oxygen, stressing that she will move back to the UK in March.
Patterson began her HP career in 1995 as a Material Production Manager at its Bristol site, which at the time produced DDS storage technology.
“I can vividly remember people telling me they’d been there for ten years and thinking ‘gosh, that’s a long time to be at one company’,” she recalled.
“Flash forwards 30 years, and I’ve changed roles every two or three years. I’ve had global exposure. I’ve done R&D leadership and production leadership, and I’ve done a lot of marketing, sales and business development.
“This brings me back full circle to the UK, where I started, which is a huge honour and privilege.”
Siding with Sawyer
Patterson replaces interim MD Zoe Westwood, who stepped into the role on a temporary basis in November following the promotion of Neil Sawyer to MD for Northwest Europe.
“Stepping into this new role, I’ll be bringing my breadth and depth of knowledge from working across multiple infrastructures and use cases, whether that’s banking, education, technology and car manufacturing, AEC customers or media and entertainment,” said Patterson, who will report into Sawyer.
“That’s what I’ll be bringing to the role.”
“Neil is an exceptional experienced leader, so I’m actually really excited to be partnering tightly with him.”
HP’s UK subsidiary turned over £1.49bn in its fiscal 2023, according to its latest accounts. Average headcount for the year stood at 835. Globally, HP turned over $53.6bn in its fiscal 2024 – flat on the previous year.
In a canned statement, Sawyer added:
“Ruth’s deep understanding of our business, combined with her strong alignment with HP’s values, makes her the ideal leader for our UK&I market.
“Her passion for fostering meaningful relationships with our people, partners, and customers will be instrumental in driving continued success in the region. I am confident that Ruth will build on the solid foundation established by Zoe Westwood and the UK&I leadership team.”
Doug Woodburn is editor of IT Channel Oxygen
