Readers' lives: Spurring them on

Mark Hughes was once a professional footballer, and is now a dedicated family man

Hughes: Adored Las Vegas

What was your first job, and how did you get into IT?
I started off as a professional footballer at Tottenham Hotspur FC. I got into IT by combining commitment and luck!

Planes, trains or automobiles?
Automobiles every time! Trains and planes are just too much hassle today.

What sport should be in the Olympics but isn’t?
Karate or cage fighting. The people who do those sports are really committed, and should be -- to an institution. Mad, the lot of them.

Which fictional TV character is borrowing ideas from your life?
Jay from The Inbetweeners. If you have seen it, and you know me, you will know why. So much like me -- before I became mature and cultured.

What is your favourite joke or the one you heard most recently?
If the invisible man knocks on the door, tell him I can’t see him.

“In my dreams …”
I am young and can do it all again, with a lot of changes.

What was your best business trip or junket ever?
My first trip to Las Vegas with IBM was just great fun. What goes on in Vegas stays in Vegas .....

What was the best holiday you ever went on?
My first trip to Vegas. Whoops! Change that! Probably my honeymoon to the USA with my lovely wife, I should say!

If you had a week to live, how would you fill it?
In Vegas.

“I never…”
... would have believed that I am about to become a father again at 46 years of age. Roll on, 18 October – the due date.

Print or online news?
Print. There is something about a newspaper that is just right, especially when you spend much of your day looking at a PC or iPhone already.

Do you use social media? If so, business or personal?
HDS Intranet and LinkedIn.

What does the channel most need to learn to succeed and grow this year?
The channel has matured and become much more professional. As long as that continues we do not need to change anything, as it is improving weekly.
Do vendors do enough to help their channel?
I know that HDS does because it listens to its partners. Others could definitely learn a lot from them.

Mark Hughes is partner development manager at Hitachi Data Systems