Hewlett-Packard Co. (HP) has announced the appointment of Francesco Serafini, a 24-year HP veteran, as senior vice-president and MD for HP Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and the Technology Solutions Group (TSG) EMEA.

Serafini will chair the regional leadership team responsible for HP"s strategy in EMEA, developing partnerships and key stakeholder relations for HP.

As part of his role, he will also lead the enterprise storage and systems, software and services businesses, including sales and marketing to enterprise and public sector customers.

"Francesco Serafini is an outstanding leader, with a deep understanding of not only our services, solutions and product portfolio, but also of the challenges of competing in very dynamic markets while successfully serving customers," says Ann Livermore, executive vice-president, HP Technology Solutions Group. "He is ideally suited to taking HP EMEA forward and extending HP"s regional leadership position."

Serafini"s appointment is part of a company-wide restructuring announced by HP. With immediate effect, Bernard Meric, formerly MD, senior vice-president EMEA, will transition to a new senior vice-president, European Union Relations role in HP"s worldwide government relations function.

"Our goal is to become a simpler and more responsive company for our customers and partners to do business with. It is a privilege for me to lead a very talented team in EMEA and to drive our business success in the region. I would like to thank Bernard Meric, who led this region and played a critical role in a challenging time. He succeeded in strengthening HP"s market position and built a strong and aligned European leadership team, of which I was proud to be a part," says Serafini.