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HP: Bethany Mayer, Senior VP and General Manager, HP Networking

Gold Stevie Award Winner 2012, Click to Enter The 2013 Steve Awards for Women in Business

Company: HP, Palo Alto, CA, United States
Entry Submitted By: Burson-Marsteller
Company Description: HP creates new possibilities for technology to have a meaningful impact on people, businesses, governments and society. The world’s largest technology company, HP brings together a portfolio that spans printing, personal computing, software, services and IT infrastructure to solve customer problems
Nomination Category: Individual Awards Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Female Executive of the Year – Business Products –More Than 2,500 Employees

Nomination Title: Bethany Mayer, Senior VP and General Manager, HP Networking

Describe for the judges the activities and accomplishments of the nominated executive since the beginning of July last year (up to 500 words):

Bethany is senior vice president and general manager of HP Networking, a global $2.5 billion business that’s integral to Hewlett-Packard’s growth strategy. In this role, which Bethany took on in May 2011, she leads a global team of 6,100 employees that helps companies improve their performance through innovative networking technology.

For the past 20 years, the networking industry has been dominated by a single company. The resulting lack of competition slowed innovation and increased prices. Upon taking charge of HP Networking, Bethany immediately recognized that two accelerating trends – mobility and Cloud computing – were putting unsustainable pressure on customers’ networks. In response, she drove HP Networking to introduce the industry’s first Software Defined Network (SDN) for the entire network, which enables customers to dramatically simplify, scale and automate their network.

HP’s SDN solution, called the HP Virtual Application Network, enables customers shifting to the Cloud to install applications in minutes rather than months. This radical transformation gives customers more choice and greater flexibility – all at a lower cost. Understandably, it’s proving extremely popular in the marketplace.
Under Bethany’s leadership, HP Networking has increased its revenue for five straight quarters, and is now the industry’s only other networking vendor with double-digit market share.

Bethany also demonstrates a strong commitment to creating a collaborative, engaging work environment that fosters innovation and professional growth. Every year, HP conducts a companywide employee survey to identify areas for improvement, solicit new ideas and measure overall engagement. After employee teams recommended changes and Bethany implemented them, HP Networking’s Employee Engagement Index jumped by more than 20%. As Sharon Foster, an HP Networking employee who worked on the survey, said: “Bethany seems to put a high priority on employee engagement and ensuring employees are recognized.”

Bethany is deeply engaged in HP’s Talent Acceleration Program, a mentorship program designed to strengthen the careers of HP’s top 150 Vice Presidents and Directors. Over the course of 12 months, Bethany meets several times with her three mentee Vice Presidents to help them sharpen their business acumen and leadership skills.

Beyond the workplace, Bethany volunteers as a fundraiser for the Canary Foundation (focused on early cancer detection), and as a board member at Hospice of the Valley, the oldest community-based non-profit hospice in California; Teen Challenge, focused on reducing teen drug and alcohol addiction; and Watermark, supporting the rise of exceptional women leaders in the public and private sectors.

Recognized by Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal as one of Silicon Valley’s most influential women, Bethany also speaks widely. Recently, she delivered keynotes at Interop Las Vegas and Interop Tokyo – the networking industry’s premier annual conferences – and at Intel’s Women In Networking conference. Entitled “Achieving Success through Diversity and Collaboration,” Bethany’s Intel keynote focused on the catalyst role that women play in driving innovation and helping companies outperform their competitors.

Provide a brief biography of the nominated executive (up to 100 words):

Bethany Mayer is the senior vice president and general manager of the HP Networking business unit, which has grown 11 consecutive quarters and delivers $2.5B in annual revenue for HP. Bethany oversees the group’s worldwide business operations, with a focus on expanding its market share position as a leading networking supplier in the market. Previously, Bethany was responsible for worldwide marketing and alliances for HP Enterprise Business Group.

Mayer has more than 25 years of leadership experience in product management, marketing communications, operations and engineering from start-ups to Fortune 500 corporations.