HP's Managing Director

Stephanie Dismore

As Managing Director for HP North America, Stephanie Dismore oversees the company’s largest multibillion-dollar region. HP’s portfolio includes products and services across personal systems and printers, as well as 3D printing solutions, for business and home users. Based in Austin, Dismore is responsible for leading HP’s market strategy and also oversees direct and indirect sales engagements across HP’s portfolio of products and services, for commercial, consumer and public sector customer segments for the region.

During her 21-year tenure at HP, Dismore has held various leadership positions in sales, marketing and channel roles. Most recently, she served as vice president and general manager of Americas Channels, where she led HP’s commercial and consumer channel sales in the U.S., as well as overseeing all channel-related partner planning, development and programs for thousands of HP Partners in the Americas region. Prior to that, Dismore led the Americas commercial channel with primary responsibility for HP’s U.S. commercial channel business and Americas channel partner development and programs.

She sits on the boards of TESSCO Technologies Inc., the Anti-Defamation League, the Consumer Technology Association and Boys & Girls Clubs of the Austin Area. She earned a BS in Business Administration from Messiah College. She recently spoke with i3 about HP’s initiatives including its channel first strategy and how the company has responded to the rise of remote education resulting from the pandemic.

Q Can you talk about HP’s “channel first” strategy?

A Our channel first approach puts partners at the center of everything we do. Last year’s launch of HP Amplify, our global channel partner program, was an evolution of how we work with our partner community around the world and was designed to drive dynamic partner growth, progressive go-to-market strategies, and personalized end customer experiences. With the dramatic shifts in how consumers research and buy technology, and engage with brands, we knew the time was right to consolidate HP’s best partner products, tools and trainings into one intuitive program that allows HP to collaborate more closely with partners. As we approach the one-year anniversary of the HP Amplify launch we’ve seen — unequivocally — how essential these evolved capabilities are for our partners. The hybrid world we’re navigating today requires partners to have the data-driven insights, innovative technology solutions and sustainable business models that make them indispensable to customers. HP is committed to enabling our partners with every opportunity to achieve that.

Q What are the most disruptive tech trends impacting the industry?

A The rapid growth of digital services is having a huge impact on our hybrid world. Consumers need devices and services that are multifunctional and can support daily needs across work, school and play. At HP, we are seeing demand continue to rise for subscription services. For example, Instant Ink, our monthly ink and toner subscription, has recently surpassed 10 million subscribers. Services will become even more personalized and flexible to consumers’ lifestyles, providing a simple and seamless experience for today’s hybrid workers, and we see this trend as an opportunity for growth into 2022 and beyond.

Q With current supply chain difficulties, what are the main distribution challenges for HP?

A There’s no question we continue to navigate a complex operational environment, with increased demand spurred by work and learn-from-home coupled with widespread component shortages and supply chain disruptions brought on by the pandemic. As widely reported, component shortages are impacting many industries worldwide, beyond the PC and print business, including the automotive sector, mobile phone manufacturers and the consoles business. HP is taking actions to better meet rising customer demand for work and learn-from home products by optimizing our portfolio mix and working closely with multiple component suppliers to mitigate shortages.

Q How did the rise of remote education during COVID affect HP?

A With education no longer confined to the four walls of the classroom, HP is focused on technology solutions that help teachers and students thrive in blended learning environments long-term. To that end, HP has set goals to enable better learning outcomes for 100 million people by 2025 and to accelerate digital equity for 150 million people by 2030. We are making these commitments a reality through initiatives aimed at improving global digital access to high-quality education resources. We started HP’s Partnership and Technology for Humanity (PATH) accelerator, which is convening critical dialogues, collaborations, product innovations and more to accelerate digital solutions in underserved communities around the world. Print, Play & Learn is a free online resource supporting millions of families with weekly literacy content, worksheets, coloring pages, puzzles and other learning printables for children ages 2–12. We also launched BeOnline, which brings together distance and online learning partners, tools and platforms, and we reached 155,000 new users through HP LIFE, a free, skills-training program for entrepreneurs, business owners and lifelong learners all over the world.

Q How is HP responding to semiconductor shortages that affect integrated circuits? Will this put pressure on holiday sales?

A An industry-wide semiconductor capacity shortage is leading to a lack of integrated circuit chips (ICs) used across all units and accessories. As a result, we are seeing long lead times for components involving semiconductors, and rising demand in certain product categories has resulted in increased order backlog and prolonged lead times to customers. Availability of key components will most likely remain constrained into early 2022, but we are working with key suppliers to increase their commitments, maximizing supply usage to reduce backlog, and streamline processes and workflows to improve efficiencies into the holiday season.

Q How has being a CTA member influenced your industry views?

A Being a member of CTA provides valuable opportunities to see new innovations and groundbreaking product launches, creates a community between member organizations, and sparks information sharing on emerging technologies such as AI. I’ve had the pleasure of collaborating with industry professionals from startups to Fortune 50 companies and I have seen the power technology has to impact other industries, from healthcare to education. I also appreciate CTA’s advocacy on behalf of the technology industry, and the combined work of member companies on policies that impact the innovation economy. CTA members are constantly sharing unique perspectives and pushing the boundaries of what is possible, laying the future foundation for our industry.

Q How has making D&I a business imperative helped make HP’s company stronger?

A From HP’s earliest days, the company has recognized the importance of diverse points of view that can better inform our products, our relationships and our impact. We’re proud to have 46% representation of women and 54% representation of minorities on our board, making HP’s one of the most diverse boards in the tech industry. This foundation of diversity and inclusion drives new business, fuels innovation, and attracts and retains the best employees. HP’s DEI strategy directly contributes to our mission of becoming the most sustainable and just technology company by 2030, and this year, we announced aggressive goals for continued progress. Those include achieving: 50/50 gender equality in HP leadership by 2030; more than 30% technical women and women in engineering by 2030; a higher than 90% rating on internal inclusion index for all employee demographics annually; and many more.

Q How is HP driving sustainability?

A At HP, we are dedicated to improving the lives of millions through our sustainable impact initiatives across climate action, human rights, and digital equity. We’re ambitious in our pursuit of better environmental outcomes. We will drive toward a net zero carbon, fully regenerative economy while engineering the industry’s most sustainable portfolio of products and solutions. We plan to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions across the HP value chain by 2040, with a 50% reduction by the end of this decade. We pledge to reach 75% circularity for products and packaging by 2030. And we are committed to maintaining zero deforestation for HP paper and paper based packaging and counteracting deforestation for non-HP paper used in our products and print services. Every action we take at HP is rooted in our belief that as a technology company, we have a responsibility to give back to our communities, fuel innovation and ultimately change our world for the better.