Phil McKinney Retiring
We’ve seen our fair share of folks come and go from the world of HP and Palm (ed. Note- mostly go, unfortunately) but this latest one is a sad one to say for sure. Phil McKinney is one of the most interesting thinkers I’ve ever run into in any forum. He’s one of those guys who truly “gets it”, both from a technological standpoint and from an interpersonal and PR standpoint. We’re sad to say that Phil has sent out a tweet today announcing that effective December 31, 2011, he will be retiring from HP. Since joining HP almost a decade ago, Phil has worked towards a culture of innovation and creativity, something he has been uniquely skilled at accomplishing.
Earlier today, I announced that I will be retiring from HP.
This is not the traditional retirement. I’m not planning on spending my days playing golf or sitting around the house driving my wife crazy. I have far too much passion, energy and ideas to sit on the sidelines.
My definition of retirement is the freedom to write, speak, mentor, advise and teach without the restrictions of the traditional employee/corporate structure.
My passion is to help innovators get better at innovating and I’ve spent the better part of the last dozen years fulfilling that mission. My time at HP started out as an advisor on innovation that turned into a request to join for a year or so to “help grow the innovation culture at HP”. That was 9 years ago. I can honestly say they I’ve done everything that is within my power to fulfill that objective.
Read the full post here.
I know what you may be thinking. “Phil just announced his retirement, his future endeavors probably include drinking fruity cocktails on the beach!”. Well, not exactly. While he’s retiring from HP Phil has announced plans to continue his work as a motivational speaker, hosting his Killer Innovation Workshops, expanding his efforts on his personal blog and podcast, and more. Phil has also stated that he will be taking some time to focus on his upcoming book titled “Beyond the Obvious”. He’s also done magnificent work with the Hacking Autism project which we hope he continues.
Phil has always been a great guy and we wish him nothing but the best in his future endeavors. It is important to note that Phil was at HP well before the purchase of Palm and has very little to do with webOS. However, he has been a great voice in the tech community and an all-around awesome guy. He’s honestly one of the most insightful, helpful, and approachable people in this crazy industry and will certainly be missed. Well, not missed entirely, as we’re sure that he will still be posting and tweeting about innovation and things he is so very passionate about. If you haven’t done so yet, we recommend you follow Phil on Twitter @PhilMcKinney. It looks like the best is yet to come.
Source: Phil Mckinney on Twitter, Philmckinney.com
