Tony Riccardi

Career so far I have been driving Mesh forward for more than 15 years, proving that there is such a thing as loyalty and that UK system builders can win.

Do you care about green IT? Yes. Everyone needs to care about the planet – especially the IT industry. Over the past 12 months, the UK has reduced its energy consumption by more than 1 per cent - and anything that Mesh can do to help continue that trend is well worth while.

If you could be in a rock/pop band, which one would it be and who would you be? I think a global tour with Girls Aloud would be a very healthy use of my time.

What is the best corporate jolly you have ever been on/taken partners on? Back in the golden days of the 1990s, after signing a new 12-series, the legendary Brin Bucknor of VNU took a party of six to La Gavroche where we proceeded to create a bill of more than £1,700 in less than three hours. Golden days.

Has 2009 been as bad as everyone said it would be? It has been a fantastic year – the harder the environment – the more we thrive!

Have any of your predictions come true this year? In January, we told the market that Mesh was going through a massive transformation – getting back its Mojo – and driving forward. We told people that sales would increase 100 per cent and, by July, that’s exactly what Mesh had achieved.

What do you see as the channel’s biggest challenge in 2010? It would be nice to see the distribution channel run by businessmen again, instead of the insurance industry. Distributors like M2M have such an amazing in-depth knowledge of the market and understanding of their client's business that they really can make a difference. Working with Jed and Co has been a real joy. I wish I could say the same about more suppliers.

What is the best part of your day? Coming in to a mountain of online orders for high-end systems on a Monday morning - after Arsenal have banged in six goals over the weekend.