Callow, Paul

A-List 2006

Job title: General manager of trade channels.

Company: Brother.

Year of birth: 1973.

Place of birth: High Wycombe.

Career outline: Started in the FMCG marketplace and spent three years at Haagen-Dazs and a further five years at L’Oreal. I moved into IT in 2000 and joined Brother in 2003.

What motivates you every morning to get up and work in the channel? Feeling that I really could make a difference today and working with great people at a great company.

What has been the most over-hyped technology in the past five years? Good Lord, I don’t know, optical mice.

What will be the most underrated technology in the next five years? Wireless technology is growing rapidly. I think the UK market is not accepting the technology as rapidly as a lot of vendors would like.

Which technology would you most like to have invented? I would have loved to to have invented the mobile phone. My uncle beat me to it when he founded a major mobile phone network about 20 years ago.

Do you have any regrets from your time in the industry? I’d like to say that I’ve worked too long and hard over the years, but it just wouldn’t be true.

If you could swap places with anyone in the industry, who would it be? I wouldn’t want to swap with anyone. I’m enjoying doing what I’m doing right now.

What is the biggest hurdle you have faced in your career? I only see opportunities to shine, not hurdles or obstacles.

What is the biggest success of your career? I feel that the best thing I’ve achieved is to build a world class team of people around me. I’ve been in relatively senior management positions for the best part of 10 years and without doubt the guys we have at Brother are the best.

What piece of technology could you not live without? My MontBlanc notebook and pen.

What would be your advice to anyone starting a career in IT? Take ownership of as much as you can. Don’t be one of these guys who always blames head office or Europe or someone else when things can’t be done or go wrong. Make decisions and stand by them.

What is your favorite computer game? Brain Trainer on Nintendo DS.

What would you like for Christmas if you could have anything? One of those Bentley GTs would be nice.

What is your favorite karaoke song? Don’t go there.

What would be the title of your autobiography? I Said It Would Be OK And It Was.

Do you have any phobias? No.

How many beers before you fall over? 5.

Number of staff you manage? 30.

What is your golf handicap? 21.

What car do you drive? A BMW and a Range Rover.

Number of air miles you have? What? I haven’t even got a Nectar card.