Stacy Wolff has worked for HP since the company acquired Compaq back in 2002. In 2015 he took up the role of global head of personal systems design. He has more than 28 years of experience developing both consumer and commercial products, including various design roles across HP.
Here's what we learnt when we sat down with Wolff to learn about how HP Inc has changed since it split from HPE two years ago.
The split
Wolff considers HP Inc's split from HPE in 2015 a turning point for design. The split saw HP's personal computing and print businesses spin out into its own standalone company, with Australian-born Dion Weisler taking the lead role as of chief executive and president of the rebooted company. Wolff praised Weisler for allowing the design team to reinvent itself and make design a core focus for HP.
"When I talk to people about design within HP, it really is a component of the strategy. What I mean by that is when you talk about Dion [Weisler] or Ron Coughlin, both of those key executives see design as a key component, both as recovery for HP and the PC industry, but also as the backbone of how the company is really reinventing itself," Wolff said.
"Prior to four years ago, HP was relegated to commonplace. It wasn't really special from a design standpoint. There was very little differentiation. At the split of the company, there was a shift in mindset.
"The mindset was very much about being lifestyle driven, being insight driven. We've gone from a company that was producing just sheer technology to technology, that is really designed and focused on the insights we've gained, whether it's from a consumer perspective of having that perfect lifestyle to the change and the transformation going on in the corporate space, or as we see it as 'one life'."
Lifestyle products
One of the biggest shifts in measuring success has been the recognition of HP devices as lifestyle products, according to Wolff. He said the company used to benchmark itself on coverage from technology trade magazines, but now sees its products popping up in lifestyle and fashion magazines more frequently.
Wolff places a lot of that success on the Spectre 13, the world's thinnest notebook that HP first introduced last year.
"We were contacted by many press and publications asking 'can we do an article on you'. That's a complete change over four years," he said.
He also referenced HP's partnership with Harvey Norman, which saw the Australian retail giant get its own exclusive finishes thanks to chief executive Katie Page.
"We're now seeing ourselves as components of other people's success. You have Harvey Norman CEO Katie Page in Vogue magazine, and in the magazine she references her success with our success and our partnership," Wolff said.
Merging consumer and commercial
HP no longer sees consumer and commercial as their own separate streams, and instead changed tack to focus on what it calls the 'one life' mindset, acknowledging that devices need to be fit for purpose in business and home settings.
"Everything that we do now in our EliteBook family could easily be on the shelf at retail, but that doesn't mean it's just a consumer product that’s moved into corporate," he said.
"You can't just take a thing of beauty and put it in there and hope that business customers will love it, that's just an aesthetic thing. There's more to it that we put into the product."
Wolff revealed the three key areas HP sees itself in devices: gaming, premium and 'one life', moving away from the traditional consumer and commercial streams.
HP is relatively new to the PC gaming market, but Wolff said the company planned to continue to invest and grow in the space.
"This is an opportunity for HP from not just a business standpoint, but also to be a leader in the industry. The gaming segment is growing leaps and bounds and it is a segment that actually lends itself," he said.
He also said HP had since merged its virtual reality and gaming business units together. "We've unified those businesses because the artist demands a lot of from that product, and a gamer demands something that is almost equal to that."
On the premium business, Wolff said: "The premium segment for us is so key because it gives us the opportunity to create the best product possible and also be in a category that allows us to keep inventing and doing new things. And it's a trickle down. What we've done with the Spectre keeps showing up in the next line down, so it really services everyone."
Design team
Wolff lifted the curtain on the makeup of HP's design team, which is now based in three locations: Palo Alto, Houston and Taipei. He said the company had gone out of its way to hire a diverse staff from different backgrounds, both culturally and professionally, including staff from the auto industry and athletic wear. Wolff said the need for diversity was important as HP moved away from designing male-orientated devices to cater to a much wider audience.
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