Arrow Electronics, among the largest distributors of Hewlett-Packard products in the enterprise, announced this week it had acquired a pair of channel veterans from the vendor's staff in a push to boost their HP VAR program.

Arrow signed Ed Burke and Judy Lynch, both longtime HP channel executives, to its HP business unit to provide a stronger link between the Englewood, Colo., distributor and the HP VAR community.

Among the early roles Burke and Lynch will play will be to ensure Arrow is engaging with the right partners in the right markets and geographies," said Michael Haley, vice president for Arrow's HP Enterprise Computing Solutions.

"Ed and Judy's firsthand experience working with partners from inside HP will be of tremendous value to our customers," Haley said. "Their knowledge of HP and the partner channel will provide a valuable conduit back to HP on behalf of our partners."

"They are incredibly well connected and respected in the HP community," said Michael Haley, vice president for Arrow's HP Enterprise Computing Solutions.

"They will help us to, one: support our organization in serving the VAR community, and two: develop initiatives around the fast growing areas and the need for our VARs to build effective practices around those areas, for example the advent of blades in the enterprise."

Burke will serve as director of marketing charged with launching and supporting new sales programs.

Burke performed a similar role at HP, where he was director of marketing in the vendor's Enterprise Servers and Storage group.

Lynch will serve as a Business Development Manager, responsible for implementing these programs and engaging with partner. Previously, Lynch was Manager of HP's U.S. Enterprise and Commercial Segments.

Arrow maintains a stable of about 170 HP resellers, the company said.

Arrow is among three distributors authorized to distribute HP's enterprise line.

Click here to read more about Avnet's decision to sell its HP end-user practice to Logicalis, a former Arrow reseller.

Arrow has increased its investments in the HP channel over the past three years, encouraged by HP's own investment and interest in the channel as the main route to enterprise business, said Kristen Beatty, marketing manager of Arrow's HP unit.

"It's a complimentary investment that we wouldn't be making if they weren't so firmly behind it," she said.

"They have made a lot more investments and changed structure to support both distribution and resellers. They have made more markets available, they're assigning less and less direct marketing in the enterprise; they're giving us access to a larger base. A lot more deals are partner led."

Editor's Note: This story was updated to add additional information about Burke and Lynch's new roles.