Chief executive, Azzurri Communications
What achievement are you most proud of?
Bringing up our children to be happy, well-balanced adults who enjoy being with us.
What has been the biggest change in the channel since you started working in it?
It's the "C" word - convergence. Whereas once upon a time customers bought distinct products for voice, data, desktop and mobile, now they're all part of one solution. That drives complexity, and if you get it wrong, cost.
What three things could you not live without?
I do all my note taking on an iPad these days, so that's number 1. Outside work, my twin passions are cycling and music, so number 2 is my Bianchi bike and number 3 my Gibson Les Paul guitar. What has been your most embarrassing moment so far? Telling my team meeting I was about to take my clothes off. I was working in Frankfurt at the time and my German wasn't quite as good as I thought it was. I thought I was excusing myself from the meeting!
What do your family think you do all day?
Sit in meetings and occasionally go to glamorous places, which is pretty much right.
Who is your ultimate celeb crush?
Selma Hayek - intelligent and gorgeous.
What is your guilty pleasure?
An early morning bacon sandwich and coffee at Beaconsfield station - best bacon butties on earth!
What would be your first act if you were made Prime Minister?
Resign. I find politics fascinating, but I haven't the patience or tolerance that it needs.
Has 2015 been a good, bad or ugly year?
Pretty much every year's a good year unless you've been hit by illness, bereavement or lost your job, so 2015 was a good year for me.
If you didn't work in the IT channel, what would you do?
My PA complains about my appalling handwriting, and I had genuinely thought about becoming a doctor before I chose the glamour of telecoms!
What major issues will the channel face in 2016?
Cloud is becoming mainstream, with Microsoft making it easy to use and laying the ground to move from the desktop and mobile into voice, through Skype for Business. Embrace it, find a way to be part of it, or perish.
