Robert Herjavec

clock • 3 min read

Founder and chief executive, Herjavec Group

What is your greatest career move to date?

Starting Herjavec Group in 2003. We had a vision of offering managed security services to enterprise businesses. The market wasn't quite ready then but we stuck with it and now, 13 years later, we've expanded globally and have a proven track record of excelling in optimising and managing highly complex environments. I'm so proud of our team.

What is top of your bucket list?

From a professional standpoint, it's expansion across Asia Pacific. We're currently in Australia but I'd like to expand our presence across Asia.

What has changed most since you started working in the channel?

The level of connectivity and the maturity of our audience have both drastically changed. The rise of IoT has changed the game at the enterprise level and that's translating to so much more complexity for IT teams to manage. There was also a time when we couldn't get a CEO or board meeting. It's hard to imagine today, because now every executive appreciates the fallout of a breach in terms of both brand and financial reputation. Executives are speaking the language of security and asking the right questions.

How do you think Brexit is going to affect the channel?

I'm very bullish in terms of my approach to Brexit. The need for proactive information security doesn't change in light of Brexit. Was the timing tough? Sure. But I think we will see complete rebound. I've said it before - there is magic to doing business in London that can't be replaced. We won't see a mass exodus from this economy.

What is your least favourite task during the working day?

Every day is different - and any day I'm moving Herjavec Group forward is a good day.

If you were an animal, what would you be?

Ha! Let's go with a shark (for context - Robert is a shark on the US hit show Shark Tank, a version of BBC's Dragon's Den).

If you won the big one on EuroMillions, what would you do?

Continue to scale Herjavec Group - and probably take an incredible vacation!

What is your worst habit?

My worst habit is probably my best habit too. I'm extremely paranoid. I think that's important in business. Only the paranoid survive.

How has 2016 been for you?

It has been an incredible year for us at Herjavec Group. We were named the number two company on the Cybersecurity 500 listing of the world's most innovative security companies, we've expanded into Australia, earned our SOC 2 Type 2 certification for managed services... we're growing. It's an exciting time to be in the security market and I'm thrilled with Herjavec Group's positioning and potential.

If you didn't work in the IT channel, what would be your dream career?

I'd probably be a film producer - or a racing car driver. I've always loved to create on one hand, and on the other hand, who doesn't want to go fast and be a racing car driver full time!

What major issues will the channel face in 2017?

The channel needs to continually evolve to exceed the needs of our enterprise customers. Today they are far more sophisticated and are looking for proactive defences and actionable intelligence. It's about data enrichment and achieving that level of context can be challenging to scale if not done properly.

You may also like

People

clock 16 November 2020 • 3 min read

Reseller

clock 23 November 2016 • 2 min read

Vendor

Who are the industry's movers and shakers?

clock 21 November 2016 • 1 min read

Sign up to our newsletter

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

More on Vendor

Dell has laid off 13,000 employees in one year amid slump

Dell has laid off 13,000 employees in one year amid slump

Dell Technologies’ total employee count shrank from 133,000 a year ago to 120,000 as of this month, down 9.7 percent. The tech giant is awaiting a turnaround in PC and infrastructure sales that has yet to materialise, according to its most recent earnings.

clock 27 March 2024 • 3 min read
10 big Nvidia announcements at GTC 2024: Blackwell GPUs, AI microservices and more

10 big Nvidia announcements at GTC 2024: Blackwell GPUs, AI microservices and more

CRN rounds up ten big announcements Nvidia made at its first in-person GTC in nearly five years

Dylan Martin
clock 25 March 2024 • 12 min read
Christanto Suryadarma, Zebra Technologies

Christanto Suryadarma, Zebra Technologies

CRN
clock 22 March 2024 • 4 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