Alex Teh

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Joint managing director, Infinigate UK (formerly Vigil Software)

Career so far

I have been working in the IT industry for 16 years and started my IT career in wireless internet connectivity. From there I moved into systems integration and network infrastructure, working for New Zealand's largest SI. After reading a book called Rich Dad, Poor Dad we decided that we wanted to start our own company and wrote a business plan in a bid for a UK distribution contract.

In 2002 we won our first distribution contract with Marshal Software and set up Vigil Software from the other side of the world. We started with £30,000 of investment in a two-bedroom apartment in Canary Wharf. In 2011 we sold a majority shareholding to the Infinigate Group and today are now a company doing £160m, over seven European countries, covering 60 per cent of the Western European market.

What was your first job and were you any good at it?

My first full-time job was with AXA as a financial advisor. I was the youngest person in the company and became the number one advisor in the country. However, I decided that this wasn't my chosen career path as I wanted to be an entrepreneur.

Who was your top teenage pin-up?

I didn't have a teenage pin-up but the person I looked up to the most was Richard Branson. I liked Branson because he was an entrepreneur that started from nothing and consistently risked everything he had, while still having the time of his life.

My colleagues won't know this about me but...

One year I was placed in the top 10 out of 2.5 million players for a period of time on the Barclays Fantasy Football league. My first love is rugby.

What is your favourite snack?

Crisps and cashew nuts.

What has been your career high point to date?

When we grew the company by 30 per cent plus for five years in a row, culminating in the sale of Vigil Software to Infinigate UK.

Has 2013 been good, bad or ugly?

2013 has been a key year for us. We successfully integrated Vigil Software with Infinigate Group, changed our sales teams structure, signed some key new contracts and kept up with our 30 per cent growth targets.

What do you say when asked at a party what you do for a living?

I work in IT and help organisations protect themselves against cyber criminals. I stop people stealing money from their bank accounts.

If I wasn't working in the channel I would probably be... an owner of a holiday resort with a dive shop in an island paradise, south east Asia.

What will be the channel's biggest challenge in 2014?

"What hasn't killed you makes you stronger." Now that the economy is finally recovering the channel partners that have survived will be in the best position to take advantage of a growing market again. How they rise to that challenge will determine who the future movers and shakers are in our industry.

 

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