Hatton, Mark

A-List 2006

Job title Managing director.

Company Sphinx.

Year of birth 1964.

Place of birth Bedfordshire.

Career outline I’ve been managing director of Sphinx since 1999. Prior to this I held a number of executive positions in a range of IT companies.

What motivates you every morning to get up and work in the channel? The knowledge that there’s never a dull day.

What has been the most over-hyped technology in the past five years? Rain-sensing windscreen wipers probably represent the most pointless application of technology ever. Anyone incapable of seeing that it’s raining and then turning on their wipers really shouldn’t be allowed to drive.

What will be the most underrated technology in the next five years? I suspect that social networking web sites such as YouTube and MySpace will have a massive impact on our lives over the next five years.

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

Do you have any regrets from your time in the industry? Life is too short for regrets.

If you could swap places with anyone in the industry, who would it be? The most exciting place to be in the industry right now is Google, so I’d swap places with Larry Page or Sergey Brin.

What is the biggest hurdle you have faced in your career? Business tends to be about a series of small hurdles rather than any single large ones.

What is the biggest success of your career? Leading the t eam that turned Sphinx into one of the leading IT security distributors.

What piece of technology could you not live without? I can’t imagine life without my iPod.

What would be your advice to anyone starting a career in IT? I would stress that customers no longer just want to buy technology, they want to buy solutions to their business problems, so understand your customer’s business.

What is your favourite computer game? Tiger Woods golf game on the PlayStation.

What would you like for Christmas if you could have anything? Lower taxes.

What is your favourite karaoke song? All songs sound the same when I sing them.

What would be the title of your autobiography? Right Place, Right Time.

Do you have any phobias? No.

How many beers before you fall over? 5.

Number of staff you manage? 6.

What is your golf handicap? 14.

What car do you drive? Mercedes.

Number of air miles you have? They don’t do air miles on Easyjet.