Career so far Lots of variety and lots of fun.
If you could be anyone else for a week, who would you be and what would you do? The head of the BBC. I would fire Lord Sugar and all his apprentices for giving business a bad name.
What would you have as your last meal? A curry from my local takeaway – they take forever to deliver and sometimes it’s good to postpone the inevitable.
What is the best corporate jolly you have ever been on/taken partners on? A customer roundtable at Goodwood with Sir John Harvey-Jones. An insightful morning with the original troubleshooter and a great afternoon with customers racing classic cars.
Do you see the cloud as a threat or an opportunity? A definite opportunity. Accessing the information and systems that I need from any location and without the infrastructure headache for less money – what’s not to like? How the audiovisual industry exploits this opportunity is an interesting challenge.
Have any of your predictions come true this year? I predicted the demise of pen-based interactive whiteboards as touch computing becomes universal. Smart was a pioneer of touch, and still leads the global market for ease of use.
As Windows 7, the iPhone and iPad redefine the way people think about devices, Smart’s new 800 series whiteboard will put the final nail in the coffin for pen-based interactive whiteboards. However, Smart appears to be having some product delays, so the prediction is not yet fully realised.
What do you see as the channel’s biggest challenge in 2011? People. How do we attract the best of them to our industry, give them great training and an opportunity to grow with the business and then retain those valuable relationships as they move on in their career. The channel is a great place to work for many reasons, but we can all do more to make it the best place to work.
What is the best part of your day? Bath time for the kids – total chaos, but I can switch off from the office and marvel at how exciting the world really is beyond the Comprehensive Spending Review or the latest blockbuster product.
