Adapting
Story by: Eric Moreno Photo: Courtesy
to change
Henry Gómez, of
Hewlett-Packard Enterprise, has guided some of the most influential companies in the world
B
y all accounts, Henry Gómez, the current Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing & Communications Officer for HewlettPackard Enterprise, has had an amazing career. Over the course of his nearly 30-year career in marketing and communications, Gómez has helped guide some of the most influential companies in the world, including Skype, where he served as President, HBO, where he served as the network’s Vice President of Corporate Affairs and oversaw corporate public relations, affiliate marketing communications, regional press initiatives and special events. “I also am in charge of government relations here at Hewlett-Packard, and I am a member of the Executive Council, so I am part of the company’s leadership team,” said Gómez. “I think we as a company are going to continue to bring incredibly innovative, cutting-edge technology products and services to the industry and to the world. And those products and services change the world.” He also served in various roles at eBay, where he met current HP CEO Meg Whitman with whom he has enjoyed a long and successful professional career. He also was part of Whitman’s California gubernatorial campaigns in 2009 and 2010. “I’ve worked with Meg for over 15 years now,” Gómez said. “I met her at eBay and have worked with her in either a marketing or communications capacity, and when she became CEO of Hewlett-Packard, she asked me to run communications and eventually she asked me to run marketing, as well. What I wanted to do when I got here was help the company communicate what it was
HENRY GÓMEZ, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT AND CHIEF MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER FOR HEWLETT-PACKARD ENTERPRISE.
about. At the time, the company was just entering a tough period of turnaround, and they needed to communicate clearly what they were doing, how they were doing it, and how they were going to move forward after some challenging times.” One of the traits that Gómez has been so successful is the ability to adapt. The tech world is ever-changing and ever-evolving. Being able to change as the industry he is involved in changes around him has kept him not just ahead of the metaphorical game, but also ahead of the ebbing and rising tides of the communications world. Gómez has based communications on the philosophy of being transparent, on having clarity, and on being aggressive. “[At Hewlett-Packard], we have had to engineer a turnaround at the same time that the industry changes around us,” he said. “The analogy we like to use around here is that we are rebuilding the airplane while it’s attempting to land. It’s very challenging and you’ve got to think about your communications in the context of all that change. The way I have to work as marketing and communications person today is completely different than the way it worked when my career started. I have had to learn new things, new ways and be open to new ideas. I’ve come to really appreciate and adore disruption. In disruption there is tremendous opportunity.” At this point in his career, Gómez feels he is right where he belongs. He has reached the pinnacle of the professional and technological world and is in a position to be able to affect real change, especially when it comes to the Latino community. It is a responsibility and a duty that Gómez has taken to heart. “Latinos are making some headway in the tech world, but the industry as a whole has to be better about inclusion,” he said. “The industry has to do whatever it can to encourage Latinos in early education to help them enter the technology industry. I’m most proud of in our company is the amount of support we give Latino business in the supply chain. Having Latino businesses involved in our business is a huge benefit. You’ve also got to have companies doing all they can to hire Latino executives and bring them into the industry.” latinoleaders.com