Director, enterprise group, indirect sales, HP
Career so far I've spent nearly 30 years in the industry, working a variety of end user and channel roles with Digital, Compaq and HP.
If you could be anyone else for a week, who would you be? I’m going to avoid the normal business and sporting super stars and pick somebody who is associated with my passion of cookery. Richard Bertinet is an artisan baker with a cookery school in Bath. He has a real passion for his craft and an enthusiasm to match. His bread recipes are to die for.
What will next year’s most overhyped industry buzzword be? We don’t need any more.
Has 2012 been a good, bad or ugly year? 2012 has been a good year. Our chief executive Meg Whitman has laid out a clear company strategy for us, focusing on our core strength of providing leading infrastructure technologies, services and software. The channel has been placed centre stage of our growth strategy.
What would you have as your last meal? Last year it was a chicken tikka balti from my local takeaway and that would still be up there this year. However, given my passion for baking, I’ll plump for freshly cooked homemade doughnuts rolled in sugar.
What keeps you awake at night? As I live in the middle of a wood it’s the Muntjac deer that keep me awake all night. I believe they are the only deer that breeds all year round with a mating call that can be heard for miles. I am told they are really good eating.
What piece of technology could you not be without? My Everhot Range cooker. The roasts it cooks are fantastic.
Have any of your predictions come true this year? Yes. I predicted that a number of resellers would form partnerships with companies offering different ways of supplying IT solutions. We’ve seen HP service providers partner with traditional infrastructure resellers to offer their customers new and innovative ways of consuming IT.
What is the best partner/customer trip you have ever been on? I have attended many. However, one that stands out most recently is a customer event that an HP partner ran at the Houses of Parliament. Part of the event includes a tour of the famous landmark, including visiting the Lords and Commons chambers. We did the tour in 45 minutes, and in that small amount of time I experienced and learnt so much about the heritage of our great nation.
What do you see as the channel’s biggest challenge in 2013? Customers are now exercising their choice with respect to consuming IT. The challenge for many channel partners will be how to adapt their business models to offer their customers these choices. If they don’t, many channel partners will be quickly left behind.
