HP is starting a network functions virtualization (NFV) business group to be headed by Bethany Mayer, according to a Re/Code story published Sunday.

Mayer reportedly will report to Martin Fink, who is leading the cloud initiative that HP launched in the fall. The news was supposedly divulged to HP employees on Friday in advance of a Feb. 20 announcement at Mobile World Congress.

According to an internal HP memo that Re/Code reprinted, HP considers NFV a "companywide initiative" calling for "a leader with start-up experience, strategic orientation, and knowledge of the networking space."

Mayer fits the bill, of course. She's been the senior vice president leading HP's networking division, steering it into the new era of software-defined networking (SDN) by doing things like putting OpenFlow support on every switch.

Re/Code refers to the move as a shakeup, but really, it sounds like a promotion (in spirit) for Mayer. Switching is a huge business but has a huge commodity component, whereas NFV represents a startup-like opportunity inside HP and, assuming the company believes its own rhetoric, a chance to carve new territory in the networking market.

An request for an HP comment was not immediately returned.