Working where learning never ends

Nilo S. Cruz, country managing director of Hewlett-Packard Philippines Corp. (HP Philippines), also leads the Technology Solutions Group of the company.

The group is in charge of developing and offering enterprise storage systems, software, and services in the country.

He says he learned almost everything on the job, with actual hands-on experience helping customers find solutions to their business problems and needs. "The learning of the HP way is a continuous process, it never ends," Cruz says.

Armed with industrial engineering and Master of Business Administration degrees, Cruz spent 19 years with IBM during which time he handled the banking, insurance, telecommunications, airline and petroleum industries as well as the government sector in various sales and management positions.In 1999, he became president and managing director of Compaq and was chosen to head HP Philippines following its merger with Compaq in 2002.

Today, HP is a global technology solutions provider to consumers, businesses and institutions.

Its offerings span IT infrastructure, global services, business and home computing, and imaging and printing. For the four fiscal quarters ended July 31, 2005, HP revenue totaled $85.2 billion.

What is HP Philippines’ contribution to the HP global business? As a privately held subsidiary, HP Philippines does not disclose revenues, nor its number of clients and projects. However, its workforce has trebled in the last three years indicating that the amount of business has possibly multiplied by as many times, if not more.

From only 200 employees post-merger in 2002, Cruz now has over 600 HP Philippines co-workers offering solutions and support to organizations big and small nationwide. There is a palpable focus on small and medium businesses or SMBs, which the company believes will anchor the sprint for a more progressive Philippines.

"Just as we have established our name in the enterprise and consumer segments, it is my goal to help our SMB customers become globally competitive as well. We see this growth area to be a major force in the development of a strong economy for our country and HP is committed in doing its role in attaining that objective," says Cruz.

The country head considers his regional manager as a mentor and credits his family as his inspiration to take the leadership position at HP.

What does he advise those wanting to enter the industry and succeed in information technology (IT)?

"Anyone interested in making a career in IT must learn to think ‘out of the box’ and being in another person’s shoes, " Cruz narrates.

"IT is the fastest evolving industry. An IT executive must have the foresight to see ways how these (industry) developments can have value to an organization given the multitude of applications needed to operate efficiently and cost-effectively," he concludes.