Diversity in any kind will improve the creativity
IT is not some kind of a supporting function, IT really drives the business



Exclusively for Econ.bg




Hauke Stars was born in 1967. She is General Manager of HP Switzerland and Country Manager of the Technology Solutions Group (TSG). In her role as general manager Stars bears the specific responsibility for earnings, marketing, sales, customer and employee satisfaction, as well as the long-term planning for growth in all segments. As Country Manager of the TSG she oversees the Business Units Enterprise Storage and Servers, HP Software and HP Services, including Outsourcing Services, Consulting and Integration and Technology Services.

Before joining HP Hauke Stars held various senior management positions in the IT industry. At Triaton, an IT service provider and subsidiary of ThyssenKrupp AG, she was Bussiness Unit leader for Applications & Services and Managing Director of the subsidiary Servicom. As of 2000 Hauke Stars was responsible for sales and marketing and became a member of the Executive Board. At Bertelsmann she held management consultancy positions and worked closely with the CIO.

Stars has studied Computer Science and holds a Master of Science in Engineering.

Mrs. Hauke Stars participated in HP EMEA Women’s Summit which took place between 16th and 18th of January 2008 in Sofia.



Mrs Stars, how did you become General Manager of HP Switzerland?

Hauke Stars:

I grew up in a socialist country; I’m from former East Germany. When the Berlin Wall came down I studied in Britain and then started to work in the former West Germany in the large media corporation Bertelsmann. Then I moved to an IT company named Triaton. That company was very successful in Germany and HP decided to buy it in 2004. With this move I came to HP. Then I got the opportunity to take over responsibility for the largest Business Group, the Technology Solutions Group, in the Netherlands. That I did for nearly two years. After that I moved to Switzerland just a year ago, and took over the responsibilities in Switzerland.

How do you see ladies’ role in the IT sector in the future?

Hauke Stars:

I think we need diverse environments in order to bring together all the capabilities that we have – and then choose the best of them. That’s why HP invests so much into diversity in a broader sense. In the agenda of the HP ЕMEA Summit we have different ages, different nationalities, different forbiddens because all these different approaches bring forward new ideas and help HP to continue to be innovative. That’s why it is important to do this kind of things here, like we do it today (16th January).

What are the outcomes that you expect from this forum?

Hauke Stars:

I expect that a number of these participants will go home and will show more courage going up the career path. That will help to bring even more females with excellent capabilities into the organization.

What are the major problems that HP Switzerland has to deal with?

Hauke Stars:

I would not say major problems – I’d rather call them challenges. HP is a very successful
company. We offer innovative products and customer-oriented solutions, bundling our Hardware, Sofware and Services offerings. That is our strong side. In Switzerland we are clearly the largest and most successful IT company in the overall market, leading in most segments we serve. But still I think we can be even more successful, namely in services, where we have not yet that leading position we have in most if not all product categories. That’s what I see as my biggest challenge.

How does the fact that Switzerland is not a member of the EU affect the Swiss IT market?

Hauke Stars:

It does not make a lot of difference for the IT sector in Switzerland. This fact offers different challenges and different opportunities for Switzerland’s companies compared to companies that are part of the EU. For example - a lot of companies want to come to Switzerland because of tax reasons, because of data security and so on. On the other hand sometimes it is difficult, because the trading is a little bit different compared to the countries in EU.

Are there a lot of qualified IT specialists in Switzerland?

Hauke Stars:

The unemployment rate in Switzerland in the moment is very low – at about 2.5 percent. A lot of foreigners come into the country because all the IT companies in Switzerland are constantly looking for new talents. Switzerland as an economy is growing much faster at the moment compared to the average growth rate of the last 15 years, and the IT market is growing even faster, about 5% per year, which is a lot for a mature market like Switzerland.

What are your relations with HP Bulgaria?

Hauke Stars:

As parts of one and the same company we work together in many ways. For example
we have centers in different countries, which are used for specialization. Here in Sofia we
have lots of specialists that support us in our service business worldwide.

Have you got a joined project that you work on together with HP Bulgaria?

Hauke Stars:

In a way that we work an in cross-country project - no. We have this competence center
concept and there we use our specialists.

Are there a lot of Bulgarian IT specialists that come to work in Switzerland?

Hauke Stars:

Not that I’m aware of. Currently there are a lot of people from the German speaking countries, Germany and Austria, that
come to work in Switzerland.

What are your expectations about the European IT market in the next 5-10 years?

Hauke Stars:

I expect the European IT market to grow. IT is not some kind of a supporting function, IT really drives the business. For that reason we expect the importance of IT to continue to grow in all companies independent of the area that the company is working in. It will affect especially the telecommunication area, health care, media area where the usage of IT is becoming more and more important.

Mrs. Sasha Bezuhanova (the General Manager of HP Bulgaria) presented a research according to which, Europe is going to lack people for 24 million working positions by 2035, if the ratio between working men and women does not change. What is your comment on the topic?

Hauke Stars:

It is obvious that it is important to use the best capapilities and expand the workforce – disregarding differences in sex, age, culture. All this things together will improve the creativity and will help to grow the business. With the growing problem of the aging population in Europe in the future, we will need more women in the business.

At the end I would like to wish to all the women in Bulgaria a lot of success. They should take their share in economy and make sure that they drive this country.



The interview was taken by Peter Chernev