Durnan, Chris

A-List 2006

Job title: Managing director.

Company: Peapod.

Year of birth: 1944.

Place of birth: New Delhi, India.

Career outline: I have more than 40 years in IT, which started in 1963 with 10 years as a commissioned officer as a programmer and project manager in the royal air force, followed by senior management roles at Datapoint, NixDorf, Wordplex, AES and latterly Peapod, where I have been for the past 10 years.

What motivates you every morning to get up and work in the channel? Winning good margin business against other resellers who are intent on selling products and services at no more than cost plus three points.

What has been the most over-hyped technology in the past five years? Public Key Infrastructure, need I say more?

What will be the most underrated technology in the next five years? Biometrics for identity management.

Which technology would you most like to have invented? The internet.

Do you have any regrets from your time in the industry? Yes. My body is showing too many signs of wining and dining my favourite customers.

If you could swap places with anyone in the industry, who would it be? No one. Envy is something I have tried to avoid all my life.

What is the biggest hurdle you have faced in your career? Taking a company out of administration in a very competitive and ‘shark infested’ marketplace.

W hat is the biggest success of your career? Taking a company out of administration and making it successful. Not many do.

What piece of technology could you not live without? My mobile phone.

What would be your advice to anyone starting a career in IT? Get into information security sales because the problems and challenges are going to be here for a very long time to come.

What would you like for Christmas if you could have anything? Get back all the money I have put into the national lottery.

What is your favourite karaoke song? Green Green Grass of Home, by Tom Jones.

What would be the title of your autobiography? No Regrets... Are You Serious?

Do you have any phobias? Yes. Resellers who sell at cost plus three points.

How many beers before you fall over? More than 20.

Number of staff you manage? 35.

What is your golf handicap? 24.

What car do you drive? S Type Jaguar.

Number of air miles you have? 28,000