HP has announced that Helena Herrero, senior vice president and president of the Southern and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa (SEMEA) region, will end her time at the company after more than four decades of leadership, transformation and innovation.
Helena Herrero began her professional career at HP in 1982 and has developed her entire career within the company to become one of the main executives in the technology sector. Since November 2022, he led the SEMEA region, promoting a stage marked by technological transformation and innovation.
Major industry transformations
Throughout these years at HP, Helena has been a witness and protagonist of some of the great transformations of the technology industry, always showing an active commitment to the country, helping to consolidate Spain’s role as one of HP’s main innovation hubs outside the United States. His leadership has been marked by a deeply human vision of technology and by a culture based on trust, collaboration and the development of people.
“HP has been much more than a company for me; it has been a fundamental part of my professional and personal life. Here I have grown, I have learned and I have had the privilege of sharing this journey with extraordinary people,” declared Helena Herrero. “What has always made HP special has been the people: the team spirit, the closeness and the ability to build together. I feel deeply proud not only of what we have achieved, but especially of how we have achieved it: all together.”
“I close this stage with enormous gratitude and emotion. I take away the learning, the shared experiences and the privilege of having been part of a company that has always believed in people, talent and innovation with purpose,” added Helena.
The closing of this stage at HP now opens a new professional chapter in which Helena will continue to be committed to innovation as an engine of growth and transformation for the country, participating in projects and initiatives that boost talent, accelerate technological development and contribute to the economic and social progress of Spain.
New organizational stage at HP EMEA
Coinciding with this transition, HP will continue with the EMEA organization, responding to the company’s will in an environment marked by technological acceleration, artificial intelligence, the transformation of work models and the new needs of customers and organizations.
HP will continue to strengthen its strategic focus on key areas such as AI, cybersecurity, sustainability and hybrid work experiences, while also maintaining a firm commitment to talent development and international innovation ecosystems.
The talent and capacity of people
In March 2021, the president revealed to Byte TI in an interview that she has always been part of the ICT world and although she was a chemist by training, she has developed her entire career at HP, passing through different areas of the company.
“During my nearly 40-year career, I have witnessed many changes in this industry, and I have seen how the role of women was gaining weight and prominence in this sector. Likewise, during all these years I have had the great fortune to work in a company that values the talent and ability of people, regardless of any other issue, including gender.”
Helena Herrero will remain committed to innovation as an engine of growth and transformation for the country
Asked at that time about what technological trends would transform society, Herrero confessed: “The situation that we have experienced and are experiencing paints a scenario in which technology has taken on a vital role. It has been a ‘facilitator’ in the most complicated moments, allowing organizations to continue providing service, keeping people close from a distance and providing a response to the pressing need for material by hospitals in the hardest months of the pandemic. The fact that printing technology in “3D has become a de facto option to produce material wherever it is needed, eliminating dependence on sourcing and the supply chain, speeding up delivery times and reducing production costs, has driven the adoption of digital manufacturing.”
Given the arrival of AI, the directive confirmed that people are the most valuable asset of companies and the one that will make the difference when addressing this transformation. “Digitalization is much more than the adoption of technology: it implies a paradigm shift, in which employees become the enablers or the biggest obstacles. Technology does not make sense if there is not a person who uses it, gives it meaning and makes it evolve. We must change the attitude towards this change, since history has shown that advances create more jobs than it destroys and adopt a proactive position. Technology is important, but it is an enabler. What is truly relevant are the people.
