MTI poaches Integralis man for security assault

Integrator says hiring spree sends message that it is open for business

MTI has poached Integralis executive Simon Godfrey as part of a hiring blitz it claims is seeing it buck the industry trend.

Godfrey (pictured) has joined the integrator as security practice sales leader, a role previously held by David Hobson, who is stepping up to spearhead MTI's security expansion across Europe.

EMC, VMWare and Cisco partner MTI currently turns over about $120m but is gunning for a turnover of $200m within two-and-a-half years, even before the contribution of potential acquisitions.

This means the firm is on a hiring spree, particularly on the security side of its business, which works with vendors such as Check Point, Palo Alto and CyberArk.
Godfrey will oversee the recruitment of another six security sales staff in 2013 alone, MTI indicated.

Meanwhile, Hobson has been tasked with overseeing the expansion of the security practice into Scotland and Germany, where it will launch an office this month.

Ian Parslow, senior vice president of sales at MTI, told CRN: "We are bucking the trend and growing our business quarter on quarter and have found ourselves in a position where we can add additional headcount. This sends a message to the market that we are open for business and that the propositions we have built are being well received by customers."

Godfrey, who started yesterday, said MTI was well-known to him in his previous role of business unit director at security juggernaut Integralis. He has also previously worked for CA, BMC and Secure Computing.

He cited ensuring MTI's infrastructure and managed services customers are aware of its security proposition as a key priority.

"There is a lot of scope for growth here and I am very happy to be on board," he said.