CDN has just learned that A source close to the situation told CDN that the decision was made about a month ago. Subsidiary president Paul Tsaparis, along with directors Lloyd Bryant and Charles Salameh, will be running the Solution Partners Organization (SPO) as they look to find a replacement.
This announcement is quite disappointing and a surprise. I had lunch with Chappell just a month ago and he seemed very upbeat about his job, performance and the future of the SPO at HP Canada. He certainly had some challenges in the market place and in the government space, but nothing that an executive of his quality couldn't handle.
Chappell took the job a little over a year ago. HP Canada made a switch in the top ranks that saw Chappell become channel chief and Dave Frederickson take over the enterprise organization. That took place on December 16, 2008 — only 12 months have passed since.
Channel chief jobs are not your typical revolving door opportunities. The job has to have stability because it has so many constituents across a large geography. Being channel chief of a large company is quite a commitment for any executive. In my opinion, I think Chappell did just fine. I saw Chappell all over the country at channel partner events in 2009. The feedback I received from HP partners over the year has been good to great. Nothing bad or horrible. Was Chappell as good as Frederickson? I don't think you can make that judgement with only a year's results to base it on. Certainly, Frederickson was a star executive in the channel community and Chappell had some big shoes to fill. But again, Frederickson developed that clout in the channel over a long period of time.
I will try to update you as best I can on this developing story.
Two quick hits before I go. Ian Gordon has left IBM Canada to become Trend Micro Canada's channel chief.
Nancy Reynolds, newly minted Kaspersky worldwide channel chief, has hired Kristen Capone
