CTO Chris Larsen on technology, leadership, and responsible growth

Article published by Intelligent Data Centres on October 9

In a recent interview with Intelligent Data Centers, atNorth’s CTO Chris Larsen reflects on his career path and the evolving demands of the data center industry. He highlights one of his proudest achievements as helping to standardize processes across atNorth’s operations in EMEA – improving efficiency, reducing costs, and scaling capacity in an increasingly competitive market.

Larsen describes his leadership style as “collaborative and motivational,” emphasizing team empowerment and leading by example. He discusses some of the industry’s most pressing challenges, including how AI’s growing compute requirements are reshaping infrastructure, and stresses the need to balance innovation with sustainability. As he puts it: “Sustainability has long been a strategic imperative … AI’s substantial energy requirements make responsible resource consumption indispensable.”

Larsen explains how atNorth is investing in modular, renewable-powered facilities that recover and reuse waste heat, support grid balancing, and engage local communities. He also discusses region-specific challenges in the Nordics and across Europe, from energy grid access to stringent regulations such as the EU taxonomy, Energy Efficiency Directive, and ISO/IEC frameworks.

As Larsen sees it, his role continues to evolve alongside these changes – the core responsibilities remain, but there’s a growing focus on regulatory compliance, energy procurement, and embedding sustainability across all aspects of data center design and operation.

Read the whole interview from Intelligent Data Centres.