Michael Keegan

clock

Executive director, Fujitsu

Career so far From the mid-1980s to 90s I was a senior executive at NatWest, before moving on to chief executive roles with various private equity and value capital financed ventures. I joined Fujitsu in 2006 as sales and marketing director for our Government Business Division. In 2010 I became executive director of our product organisation which encompasses responsibility for our channel business among its remit, so probably an unusual route into today’s channel.

If you could be anyone else for a week, who would you be? Lead guitarist for The Damned who I grew up with through my teens, and as you can tell from the photo never got out of my system.

What will next year’s most overhyped industry buzzword be? I’m going to say big data as although data needs are growing rapidly, we are already in a position to analyse and process requirements right now.

Has 2012 been a good, bad or ugly year? Good – our investment in our channel business has continued to deliver great market share growth, more partners than ever and I’ve made it into this list for the first time!

What would you have as your last meal? Pie, chips and gravy courtesy of the Liverpudlian Mrs Keegan.

What keeps you awake at night? Thanks to the results we are achieving in our channel business at present, I’m pleased to say should I be woken it isn’t work related.

What piece of technology could you not be without? Having just bought a new Porsche 911 Cabriolet, I’ll have to say my Road Angel which keeps me on the straight and narrow!

Have any of your predictions come true this year? That our investment in the channel would pay off, by providing solutions that our partners value. Although I did have some help with this as we surveyed partners back in January asking them what they expected to see from us.

What is the best partner/customer trip you have ever been on? The Fujitsu Forum in Munich in November is a site to behold. We have more than 15,000 customers from the channel and end user alike descend on Munich from all over the world to see the full range of products and solutions that we offer. The fact it’s in Munich also means we get to enjoy ourselves in the evenings.

What do you see as the channel’s biggest challenge in 2013? For the market, I think uncertainty will be the biggest challenge, whether it’s the current economic climate or how to deliver new business models such as cloud services. For reseller partners I would ask them to challenge the “normal way” of doing things and look for alternatives that deliver value to them and their customers.

You may also like

Careers and Skills

clock 21 November 2012 •

Careers and Skills

clock 15 November 2012 •

Careers and Skills

clock 15 November 2012 •

Sign up to our newsletter

The best news, stories, features and photos from the day in one perfectly formed email.

More on Careers and Skills

Coterie unveils education academy as partner marketing falls 'even more under threat'

Coterie unveils education academy as partner marketing falls 'even more under threat'

CEO Jo Dunkley tells CRN she thinks the role is under pressure because of ‘low awareness’ and ‘assumptions’ of the required skills

Kelsey Rees
clock 18 March 2024 • 2 min read
'Feel the fear and do it anyway': Top advice from the Women in Tech Festival 2023

'Feel the fear and do it anyway': Top advice from the Women in Tech Festival 2023

We round up the most essential words of wisdom shared during The Channel Company’s Women in Tech Festival 2023

Andrea Gaini
clock 01 November 2023 • 5 min read
Marketing Minutes: Philips Monitors on the role of channel partners in ensuring ESG is prioritised

Marketing Minutes: Philips Monitors on the role of channel partners in ensuring ESG is prioritised

AOC
clock 23 August 2023 • 1 min read

Highlights

Staff & Salaries 2022

Staff & Salaries 2022

A snapshot of pay and headcount trends in the UK channel

Doug Woodburn
clock 09 March 2022 • 1 min read
Midwich CEO on Nimans acquisition, 2021 results and return to pre-pandemic levels

Midwich CEO on Nimans acquisition, 2021 results and return to pre-pandemic levels

Stephen Fenby talks to CRN after Midwich’s 2021 results in which profitability exceeded pre-pandemic levels

Josh Budd
clock 08 March 2022 • 3 min read
4 more vendors suspend sales in Russia following Ukraine invasion

4 more vendors suspend sales in Russia following Ukraine invasion

IBM and Microsoft are among a number of vendors which have also announced that they will halt sales in Russia following the invasion of Ukraine.

clock 08 March 2022 • 3 min read