![](\"https:\/\/fortune.com\/img-assets\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Neil-S-headshot-e1775644061420.jpg?w=2048\")
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As a business founded\u00a0in 1939, HP is no stranger to wartime turbulence and geopolitical volatility.\u00a0But\u00a0the\u00a0recent conflicts and their resulting economic uncertainty pose challenges for every business. In this first installment of a new series, we check in with Neil Sawyer, HP\u2019s managing director for Northern Europe, on how\u00a0he\u2019s\u00a0leading his team through an unsettled period.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Priorities:\u00a0What\u2019s\u00a0your big focus for 2026?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Navigating our business\u2014as well as our clients\u2014through a lot of macroeconomic conditions. This sort of disturbance\u00a0can create a lot of new opportunities for us, but\u00a0we\u00a0also need to make sure that we manage the status quo within our business.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It\u2019s\u00a0an interesting time, technology is forming\u00a0a big part of the investment envelope for our customers,\u00a0so\u00a0our second priority is understanding our customers\u2019\u00a0objectives\u00a0more as technology transitions into being their\u00a0primary cost.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The\u00a0third point is making sure that, from a prioritization point of view, we continue to diversify our business into longer-term solutions and services-oriented value propositions.\u00a0We\u2019re\u00a0looking\u00a0at that from a supply chain perspective,\u00a0in terms\u00a0of where we\u00a0produce, but also making sure we deliver on the security criteria that many of our customers\u00a0need.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Pep talks and preparation: How did you motivate your team at the beginning of the\u00a0year?\u00a0<\/p>\n
I seem to give a motivational speech almost\u00a0on a daily basis\u00a0at the moment!\u00a0<\/p>\n
84<\/p>\n
HP\u2019s rank on Fortune 500<\/p>\n
My current\u00a0pep talk is:\u00a0\u2018HP is\u00a0a commercial entity\u00a0and\u00a0there will always be winners in a market where there is macroeconomic turbulence.\u00a0We have\u00a0a very strong\u00a0proposition that is diverse,\u00a0that addresses different technology needs,\u00a0that we can deliver through our partners and to our customers. So,\u00a0let\u2019s\u00a0make sure that we are the winners.\u00a0Let\u2019s\u00a0not look at the downsides that can present itself.\u00a0Let\u2019s\u00a0look at the upsides and make sure that we\u00a0retain\u00a0and build on our winning culture.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n
Read more: HR leaders are drowning in decisions: Here\u2019s how the best ones are getting ahead<\/p>\n
When it comes to this macroeconomic turbulence, it\u00a0wouldn\u2019t\u00a0be right,\u00a0as a leader,\u00a0not to recognize that there are concerns\u00a0for\u00a0people,\u00a0both\u00a0personally and professionally, and\u00a0we\u2019ve\u00a0got to make sure that we support our people throughout that. But we are a big,\u00a0resilient,\u00a0diverse\u00a0business\u00a0and\u00a0we should capitalize on winning because we know that technology choices are directly shaping how companies invest and\u00a0how people\u00a0work.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Worries:\u00a0What\u2019s\u00a0keeping you up at night?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Well, I have a new,\u00a0six-week-old dog, so that\u00a0definitely keeps\u00a0me up at night, wondering what it\u2019s eaten today!\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2018HP is\u00a0a commercial entity\u00a0and\u00a0there will always be winners in a market where there is macroeconomic turbulence\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
Neil Sawyer, HP\u2019s managing director for Northern Europe<\/p>\n
On the business side, it would be remiss not to acknowledge what is happening in terms of the\u00a0military action\u00a0that\u2019s\u00a0happening in many countries across the Middle East. It\u2019s\u00a0important for me to maintain our focus on how we deliver confidence in\u00a0supply in\u00a0this time.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
We also recognize that,\u00a0because of some of these macroeconomic considerations, some of our customers will need to make tough choices about the technology that they invest in,\u00a0looking at\u00a0what\u00a0they\u2019ve\u00a0invested in\u00a0in\u00a0the past\u00a0relative\u00a0to what they will invest in in the future.\u00a0To that end,\u00a0I want to make sure that we continue to deliver the highest level of customer satisfaction\u00a0possible.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
We know that there is more\u00a0turbulence in the market, not created by the industry itself, and\u00a0we need to navigate that\u00a0as a manufacturer and\u00a0a supplier.\u00a0We not only have to be reliable, but we also have to demonstrate\u00a0stability.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
So that, aside from the dog, is the thing that keeps me awake at night, and\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0very pleased\u00a0to say that\u00a0we\u2019re\u00a0making\u00a0good progress.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Trade-offs:\u00a0What\u2019s\u00a0one compromise\u00a0you\u2019ve\u00a0made this year to reach a more strategic goal?\u00a0<\/p>\n
We\u2019re\u00a0letting go of the way in which\u00a0we\u2019ve\u00a0adopted practices previously.\u00a0A\u00a0good example of this is how we respond to our customers. Where previously, we have worked through our supply chain and had an order book that is\u00a0largely driven\u00a0by what our customers want and need to buy,\u00a0now\u00a0we have\u00a0also\u00a0introduced the opportunity to\u00a0shape\u00a0demand as well.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
275<\/p>\n
HP\u2019s rank on Fortune Global 500<\/p>\n
What\u00a0we want to do is make sure we maintain the highest level of customer fulfillment,\u00a0so\u00a0we\u2019re making sure that we\u2019re consulting more than ever before with our customers around what technology is available\u00a0and\u00a0what the alternatives\u00a0are\u00a0that can deliver the same solution, oftentimes in a more cost-effective way.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Magic metrics:\u00a0What is one number\u00a0you\u2019re\u00a0looking for at the end of this month to signal\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0been a success?\u00a0<\/p>\n
We spend a lot of time focused on\u00a0our\u00a0Net Promoter Score.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Of course, there are commercial metrics around revenue, profit, market\u00a0share, but those metrics are cared for by the fact that we deliver\u00a0a high level\u00a0of customer\u00a0satisfaction. So, if\u00a0pushed for just one metric, I would\u00a0say always\u00a0our net promoter score, because it fuels the results that we see in the others.\u00a0<\/p>\n
#year #lifeatHPwhat #matters #Northern #European #chief #April<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
As a business founded\u00a0in 1939, HP is no stranger to wartime turbulence and geopolitical volatility.\u00a0But\u00a0the\u00a0recent…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[245],"tags":[3509,697,1436,3684,7571,4276,166,199,7572,2791,85],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3377"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3377"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3377\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3377"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3377"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3377"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}