HPの成長構造を担うShane Robison

Compaqとの合併後、HPの成長構造構築において最も重要なポジションに、Shane Robison(49歳)が就いた。Compaq側からの登用であるが、この履歴(Schlumberger-->Apple-->Cadence Design Systems--> AT&T Labs-->Compaq-->HP)を見れば、Compaq生え抜きの登用というより、各社を渡り歩いてきたプロをヘッドハンティングしてトップに据えたようなイメージのほうが近い。

肩書きは、Executive Vice President, Corporate Strategy and Technology & Chief Technology Officerであり、

「Shane Robison is responsible for shaping the company's overall technology agenda and for leading the company's strategy and corporate
development efforts including mergers, acquisitions, divestitures and partnerships. He leads the technology and strategy councils as well as the development of future technology roadmaps, working closely with HP's business units and HP Labs.」

がその仕事の具体的内容だ。技術の総帥で、なおかつ戦略の責任者で、M&Aを含むCorporate Developmentにも責任を持つ。

余談だが、この重要なポジションが、日本のエレクトロニクス企業には存在しない。しかしこういうポジションがないと、技術に関する「Make vs Buy」の判断ができない。

僕は個人的には、ハイテク大企業におけるこのポジションの仕事が、最も創造的かつ最も面白く、しかし最も難しい仕事だと思っている。その意味で、Shaneが
大きな仕事をできるるかどうかは全くわからない。

San Jose Mercury Newsの記事によれば、Shaneは、調整型リーダーのようである。

「Robison has served as a coordinator, ensuring that the voices of HP's far-flung researchers and technology executives can be heard in upper
management and across departmental lines. As a former programmer, he understands technology. As a manager, he is trying to align the company's research ideas with business realities. And when disputes occur, he arbitrates.」

「”He is setting up an infrastructure that is conducive to collaboration,'' said Alberto Sangiovanni-Vincentelli, a computer science professor at the University of California-Berkeley and one of Robison's advisers at HP. ”He listens a lot.''」

「Since the merger closed last spring, Robison has organized a subcommittee of the HP board to investigate technology, formed advisory boards of customers and famed technologists to offer advice about tech trends and helped HP recruit seasoned researchers like computer pioneer Alan Kay.」

「Robison supervises a team of technology executives from each of HP's business divisions and oversees Dick Lampman, who runs HP Labs and its 750 researchers. He directs talks regularly with his counterparts at partner companies like Intel and visits HP's customers as often as three times a week.”Shane is not attempting to be a deep technologist in any one area,'' said Pat Gelsinger of Intel. “He tries to be a broad technologist who can integrate strategies.''」

「Robison also encourages researchers to share their ideas with each other. To showcase ideas from throughout the company, he is organizing
an internal HP conference in April at a resort in Keystone, Colo. HP set up the conference so that 500 researchers could attend and listen to authors present 40 to 50 papers over three days, but the company received more than 1,500 submissions from engineers in all divisions. From conferences like this, Robison believes that HP will learn “where we will place our next big bets in research.''」

彼が今踏んでいる手順は、大企業改革の第一歩における教科書通りのやり方であるが、この先に真のリーダーシップを発揮できるかは個人の底力の問題となる。
以前のフィオリーナについてのBLOGでも書いたが、日本企業の抱える問題とHPが抱える問題は本質的に同じなので、この記事は日本企業に勤める読者にも、とても参考になる部分が多いことと思う。Shane Robisonの今後の仕事には要注目である。