March 22, 2012: Vyomesh Joshi, a veteran at Hewlett Packard for over 3 decades, retires this week, even as the company’s Imaging and Printing group, which he headed with great distinction ( and profitability) since 2001, is merged with Personal Systems. The 62 year old Vyomesh ( "VJ" to his friends) joined HP in 1980, as an R&D engineer, having obtained a masters degree in electrical engineering from Ohio State University and held various positions in the printer business till he was named Vice President in January 2001 and President of the Imaging and Printing Group in February 2001.
He is one of HP’s last remaining executives whose career dates back to the era of the co founders William ( “Bill” ) Hewlett and David ( “Dave”) Packard, who put in place an ethical business framework that has come to be called the “HP Way”. His leadership since 2001, saw the imaging and printing business (IPG) emerge as the shining star and cash cow of HP’s portfolio: IPG revenue grew from $19 billion to $26 billion, and doubled its operating profit to approximately $4 billion.
Yet in many of the company’s post-2000 board room upheavals, Vyomesh, while always cited as a contender for the top job, never made it: the company seemed to be looking for more hardnosed business-savvy candidates, rather than a flag bearer of HP famous 'values'. On his last visit to India in July 2011, Vyomesh praised the contribution of HP’s India-based developers saying, ““I am proud to say that some of the critical innovation around web-connected and cloud printing are being done by our engineers in India". See our story http://indiatechonline.com/vyomesh-joshi-to--steer-hp-printing--in-india-506.php
On Wednesday, Meg Whitman, president and CEO, HP said: “VJ embodies the spirit of HP and his impact on the company has been tremendous. Under his leadership, IPG accelerated innovation and pioneered solutions that transformed the printing market. We wish him the very best as he embarks on a new chapter in his life”
So do we, at IndiaTechOnline. You have made India proud, VJ.
- Anand Parthasarathy, in Bangalore