Career so far:
I have spent 27 years in a variety of sales, sales management and main board director positions in the UK, Europe and US. I have worked for vendors, partners and of course, distribution, and also done a major stint in managed services/ISP. Companies include Arrow ECS, DNS Arrow, InTechnology, Planet Online/Energis, Digital, Radius Software, Data General and Microvitec.
If you could be anyone else for a week, who would you be and what would you do?
My heart would say an astronaut and spend the week in orbit. It would be amazing to reflect on the Earth from above and also the moon, which has always fascinated me. However, my head would say Chancellor of the Exchequer, because I would love some insight and a ringside seat on what is really going on at the moment.
Cloud - friend or foe?
Definitely friend, but largely in that it is driving change which is good for the industry and inevitable in many respects. Overall I am cloud positive, as long as it is treated as a framework rather than a fix-all solution. There is still work to be done to make it a commercial reality for the channel, and I am excited by some of the things our own company is doing in this respect.
Has 2011 been as bad as everyone said it would be? A
bout as expected - it has been very tough with a mix of ups and downs but all things considered we have fared better than most. I am feeling optimistic about 2012 despite the economic challenges ahead of us because I believe spend on appropriate IT will continue to be a priority.
What would you have as your last meal?
I am a borderline bread addict so as long as bread was involved I would be happy. But sadly, even if I could choose anything, when it came down to it fish and chips would still probably prevail.
Who would you like to be stuck in a lift with?
It would have to be someone with a good sense of humour as they would need it to be stuck in a lift with me for any length of time.
Have any of your predictions come true this year?
The inexorable rise of the tablet. However, I don't think the range of applications available for these devices has resulted in the impact on business use I anticipated. It still feels like a largely home use device, but this will evolve.
What do you see as the channel's biggest challenge in 2012?
Over competition and crowding in an increasingly tough market will continue to sort the wheat from the chaff.
What is the best part of your day?
I am definitely still an early morning person but seem to have a work sweet-spot between 10am and mid-day. However, I am getting to an age where I consider every new day a bonus and I do try to enjoy each one as much as I can. I watched a motivational video recently called FISH! and the last line was along the lines of "You can't really control anything in life except your attitude towards it". It really struck a chord.
