KEY POINTS:
He's become a sought-after marketing consultant in Silicon Valley where he's worked with numerous tech start-ups, but Kiwi entrepreneur Andy Lark is leaving the valley behind to take up a plum role at Dell, one of the biggest computer makers in the world.
Lark becomes Dell's global vice-president
of marketing and communications, joining a handful of New Zealanders in the top ranks of large United States technology companies.
Former Carter Holt Harvey boss Chris Liddell serves as Microsoft's chief financial officer, while Michael Boustridge in April stepped down as head of sales at IT services giant EDS to lead British Telecom's business in the Americas.
The chairman of New Zealand Trade and Enterprise's Beachhead programme in the US and a board member of hardware-maker Endace, Lark said he would maintain his involvement in New Zealand businesses and industry programmes.
"Fortunately, Dell is supportive of my efforts to help New Zealand companies thrive in the US and other markets. I wouldn't have taken the role if it had meant giving that up," he said from Dell's headquarters in Austin, Texas, where he is now based.
Lark previously consulted to Dell and was vice-president of marketing at Sun Microsystem's before opting out of the corporate hierarchy to serve as marketing chief at tech start-up LogLogic.
A proponent of big business using internet tools such as blogs, wikis and forums to improve communication with customers, Lark has been given free rein to revamp Dell's communications strategy. Lark points to Dell's Ideastorm website, where customers can comment on what they want to see in future Dell products, as the type of initiatives companies increasingly need to adopt.
"The response to every idea we've chatted about so far has been 'cool, let's do that'. One of the reasons I'm here is that we need to completely embrace participatory technologies."
Lark accepted the Dell job after consulting close friends in the New Zealand tech community and already had a close relationship with Dell founder Michael Dell, who returned to the chief executive role in January.
"He's all the things you'd expect - smart, an idea machine, determined to win, passionate about the customer.
"What always impresses me is that he's lost none of his humility and pragmatism. Michael is the kind of chief executive you want to be around," Lark said of the billionaire who started out selling computers from his University of Texas dorm room in 1984.
In a strategy some commentators have dubbed "Dell 2.0", the company is trying to throw off its image as a low-cost PC and server maker. Dell has also raised its game in the consumer market where the success of computer makers like Apple has forced a computer design rethink.
Linked to Dell's transformation is a new approach to marketing and communications, which is where Lark hopes to make his mark.
