Berry, Paul

A-LIST 2005

Company: Compel.

Job title: Director.

Place of birth: Halifax, West Yorkshire.

Year of birth: 1961.

Marital status: Divorced.

Career highlights: I started out in the automotive industry with Unipart and GKN, moved to IT in 1990 and joined Compel in 1992. I left Compel in 1996 for Groupe Bull and returned to Compel a couple of years later, joining the board in 1998. I am now responsible for two-thirds of the company's business.

What do you love most about the IT industry? Its constant ability to reinvent itself.

Which company do you most admire or respect in the IT business? Oracle.

Which individual do you most admire or respect in the IT business? Scott McNealy [of Sun].

What is the biggest technology trend you anticipate in the next 12 months? Service oriented architecture.

What is the one thing working in the technology industry has taught you? Flexibility.

Where do you think the channel will be in five years time? Different shape, different faces, but still providing vendors with reach and routes to market they cannot develop themselves.

Which do you think is the most influential vendor in the UK? Microsoft.

Which do do you think is the most influential ISV in the UK? Microsoft.

Which vendor's technology do you think has changed the face of IT? Intel.

How do you unwind or spend your spare time? Sport (though less than before), riding a tractor and supporting my family in what they want to achieve.

Where is your favourite place to eat? Home.

What is your favourite drink? Red wine.

What is your favourite TV programme or film? The Long Good Friday.

Who is your favourite musician, band, artist or genre? Rock.

What is your favourite book? Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield.

What career would you have pursued if you hadn't worked in the channel? Being an advertising agency executive.

What is your personal ambition? To see my kids grow up happy.