Although the departure of CIO Randy Mott and the ascension of enterprise chief Ann Livermore to the HP board have grabbed the most attention, investors also should note Apotheker’s renewed focus in China and India. HP CEO Leo Apotheker is tightening the company’s focus on China and India.

Tucked away at the bottom of the statement announcing the reshuffle, HP revealed that Todd Bradley, executive vice president, Personal Systems Group, will also lead “cross-business initiatives” to expand the company’s China market share. Vyomesh Joshi, executive vice president of HP’s Imaging and Printing Group, will lead similar efforts in India, it added.

“It’s important,” Ezra Gottheil, an analyst at Technology Business Research (TBR) told TheStreet. “Apotheker really wants to shake some of the barnacles off HP’s processes — what he’s saying is that India and China are important too, and they have to be under powerful, effective management.”

Two of HP’s brightest stars, both Bradley and Joshi were touted as potential successors to former CEO Mark Hurd after his ouster last year, although the tech giant eventually chose Leo Apotheker.

The one-time SAP(SAP) chief, who outlined his long-term HP road map earlier this year, clearly sees big opportunities in China and India, helping offset recent weakness in consumer PCs and services. During its recent fiscal second quarter, for example, HP said that it saw accelerated growth in BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China), with revenue increasing 19% year over year. Sales in those countries accounted for 12% of the company’s total revenue during the quarter, it added.

In stark contrast, HP’s Americas revenue was up just 2% year over year, while its sales in Europe, the Middle East and Africa were down 1%.

“Obviously, when mature markets slow and show more skepticism, you go to your faster-moving areas,” said TBR’s Gottheil. But he noted that HP still has its work cut out, particularly in China. “It has done a lot of work with the states and the national government, but Lenovo is the home-grown PC brand and leads in market share.”

HP, which is keen to bolster its mobile device strategy on the back of its Palm acquisition, is also jostling for position with another massive U.S. brand: Apple(AAPL).

Greater China (which includes Hong Kong and Taiwan) accounted for roughly 10% of Apple’s overall revenue during the first half of this fiscal year, and devices such as the iPhone are proving phenomenally popular with the region’s fast-growing middle class.

HP shares gained 15 cents, or 0.43%, to reach $34.80 on Tuesday, as the Nasdaq climbed 1.7%.

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