Why I'll never be a CEO

CRN journo Sam Trendall has a message of thanks and praise for the channel execs who can't help but work harder than he does

Sam Trendall
Even by the invariably frenetic standards of this industry, the past 18 months has seen a veritable whirlwind of change at the top tables of many of the UK's biggest VARs.

Among the UK's 30 biggest channel players, since December 2011 there have been new group, UK or regional leaders at (deep breath) Logicalis, Softcat, RM, Calyx, Integralis, Redstone, Systemax, Azzurri, Stone, Phoenix, Kcom and BT Engage IT - not to mention the implosion of 2e2 and the acquisition of Equanet by rival Kelway.

And today brought news that long-serving Insight EMEA boss Stuart Fenton will be moving on during the next year. He will depart having helped find his successor and undertaken a handover period that best suits whoever steps into his role.

After more than a decade of constant travelling and frequent 80-hour weeks, one might think his departure would be the ideal opportunity to go and spend a fortnight in the sun, or perhaps just get reacquainted with the sofa and the remote control. But Fenton expects that he will start whatever his next post is "within a day or two".

"I've never been particularly good at time off," he added.

I told him that I found it hard to empathise as I've always been very good indeed at time off. It's a real talent of mine. In fact, I'm so good that I sometimes wonder if I could make a living out of it.

The former leader of one of the many companies listed above told me a few months back that he often leaves the house as early as 3am on a Monday morning to make double sure he arrives at the office before any of his employees. And it goes without saying he is always the last out on a Friday.

I suggested to the outgoing Insight man that examples such as these are just two of the (undoubtedly many) reasons that I will never be a CEO. I love this industry almost as much as I love my job reporting on it, but I'd be hard pushed to say whether I loved either more than, for example, watching an entire test match in my slippers, with just a ready supply of cold beer and salty snacks for company. (Clearly the fun never stops, chez Trendall.)

I try not to take work home with me and I can almost feel a part of my brain shut down as my PC does the same at the end of each working day. (But don't listen to any of my colleagues who tell you that I rarely restart before lunch the following day.)

But the world simply wouldn't run if everyone were like me. Businesses of all sizes are created and driven by those who can't switch off. Who get itchy feet after more than a couple of days off. Who sell their company for millions, and start a new one a few months later with the money.

These are the people who can create jobs and encourage investment, and our economy is driven by their work ethic, restlessness and entrepreneurialism.

The channel is full of such people. Among them, I'm sure, are all the new leaders of the resellers I mentioned at the start, as well as whoever joins the Insight management team in the coming months.

So I'd like to take this opportunity to raise a glass to all of you. Not least because, by the time you've finished with the emails, calls and meetings for the day, I'll probably long since have headed for the pub.

Sam Trendall is special projects editor at CRN