What is it like running a Fortune 500 business? HP’s regional CTO on adopting AI safely and motivating tech teams

Over the past two decades, HP has slowly slipped down the Fortune 500 rankings.

In 2006, HP sat 11th on Fortune ’s list of the largest companies in the U.S. by revenue and was vying with IBM to be the biggest tech company in the country.

This year, HP came in at No.

84, and has been overtaken by the likes of Apple , Amazon , Meta , and Microsoft .

In order to gain ground on its tech competitors, HP is undergoing a change in strategy.

“We’re going through a transition,” says Rajendra Sitompoel, HP’s chief technology officer for the Nordics and Benelux regions.

“From more of a hardware focus to a solution and experience focus.” In practice, this requires developing a deeper understanding of the challenges clients face and identifying the technologies and services that can help them develop a solution.

Here, Sitompoel explains how he’s putting this new strategy into action, the challenges CTOs face in adopting AI safely, and how he keeps his tech teams motivated.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Priorities: What’s your big focus for 2026? My role expanded to cover the Nordics around six months ago, so my focus has been on understanding how to manage this transition, while also retaining the focus that I had on the Benelux region.

I want to make sure I also spend time talking to clients and other CIOs and CTOs.

Balancing that internal role shift, while also dedicating enough time to our clients and helping them to navigate AI, security, and all the topics that come across our agendas has been a challenge.

Pep talks and preparation: How did you motivate your team at the beginning of the year? It’s important to give the team the freedom to operate and to stress test the security of the technology without crossing any boundaries.

I’ve almost never had to stop someone because we’re working with sound professionals, they know what they can and can’t do.