Officially, Adrian Jones has been running Hewlett-Packard's Asia-Pacific operations for enterprise storage, servers and networking since Nov. 1, 2009. But HP announced his departure in early October. The replacement search now entering its fourth month has some solution providers questioning when HP will name a new channel leader.

>> CHECK OUT: HP Channel Chief Adrian Jones Heads to New Role

The slow replacement process is nothing new for HP's channels. The company has a history of taking its time in either elevating internal executives or hiring leaders from outside to run its core channel programs.

When John Thompson left SPO in November 2006, HP spent months searching for a replacement, considering several internal candidates and courting numerous external channel leaders. It wasn't until March 2007 that Jones, a then-senior vice president of sales at storage equipment vendor McData, was named as Thompson's replacement.

While some partners are wondering when Jones' replacement will be named, HP says SPO isn't devoid of leadership. Tom LaRocca, vice president of channel marketing and strategy, is serving as regent until a new channel executive is named.