HP CEO hails 'exciting day' as Poly joins the fray

‘Since completing our acquisition (of Poly) in August, our teams have been spending a lot of time together to set our combined business up for success,’ Enrique Lores says in a LinkedIn post.

HP Inc yesterday formally welcomed AV pioneers Poly into the organisation after its $3.3bn acquisition.

While mostly ceremonial — Palo Alto, Calif. print and PC powerhouse HP formally closed the Poly deal in August — the public welcome via LinkedIn signals the first steps in integrating the two organisations. Poly's product offerings will allow HP to focus on its gambit to capture the burgeoning hybrid work market.

"It's an exciting day across HP, as we officially welcome our new colleagues from Poly," Lores wrote on LinkedIn. "Since completing our acquisition in August, our teams have been spending a lot of time together to set our combined business up for success. Each passing day brings new reasons to be excited about our future. We have incredible opportunities to innovate at the heart of (hybrid work) and create amazing new solutions for our customers."

Chief Commercial Officer David McQuarrie, who was celebrating his first official day in his new role, marked the occasion by lauding the acquisition. Commenting on Lores' post, he wrote, "In getting to know the Poly team over the past few months, I can say firsthand that HP and Poly is truly a dream team."

HP has made hybrid work offerings a major focus since the pandemic forced demand to skyrocket and created a lasting culture around remote work capabilities. During the company's Amplify Executive forum in August, Alex Cho, HP's president of personal systems, said Poly brings a lot to the table for hybrid.

"We're so excited about Poly because we can take the power of our PC management capability, Poly's great technology for rooms and conferencing and we can bring them together," Cho said. "So, you can manage a room just like you manage a PC in one consolidated platform. That's the power of HP coming together with Poly. We were meant to be together."

Peripherals will be a big part of HP's business going forward, especially with the completion of the Poly acquisition, Cho said. "We care about peripherals, not just because it's another category where we've got a ton of upside. But in a more digital world, peripherals make that computing experience more immersive. It's real. It's tangible. That's why we care about it."

When HP completed the acquisition in August, the company announced that Poly CEO Dave Schull would become president of Workforce Services and Solutions. Andy Rhodes, who previously led HP's Personal Systems business, will run the combined HP-Poly business as general manager and report directly to Cho.

"As the chapter of this acquisition comes to a close, now the real work begins," Rhodes wrote in a LinkedIn message. "I couldn't think of two teams better equipped to develop and deliver premium collaboration experiences together."

Kobi Elbaz, senior vice president and general manager of HP's global channel organisation, wrote on LinkedIn, "HP's leadership across compute, device management, and security - together with the Poly portfolio and meeting room services - is a winning combination that will empower people to work from anywhere without compromise… Collectively we can unlock exciting new growth opportunities for HP and our partners."