Nine tech bosses share their stories of how and why they got into the industry
From leaving behind horse riding ambitions to quitting the police force, here’s how nine tech bosses came to join the industry
Everyone involved in IT has their own individual story of why and how they first got involved in the industry.
Often, that decision can come about through a stroke of luck or a chance encounter which would change that person's life forever, leading to a hugely successful career in technology.
And it can also involve leaving behind a promising career in a completely different field. Both of these apply to those at the top of some notable resellers, MSPs, distributors and vendors.
This is the story of how nine big channel players first came to become involved in the tech industry - featuring tales of horse riding dreams, an arrangement in a pub and being kicked out of school...
'I dropped out of school for being a troublemaker'
Scott Nursten - Founder, ITHQ
"I was very, very lucky. My uncle was starting an internet service provider in Zimbabwe, the first internet service provider in Zimbabwe, when I dropped out of school for being a troublemaker,
"I was forced to drop out, basically. I was told to leave the school or I would be forcibly ejected. And my dad heard that my uncle was doing this and I'd been in some trouble already with the local ISP who was actually connected to my uncle, because I'd been doing some sort of phone phreaking and naughtiness.
"And they said to my uncle, 'you should get Scott on board' and my dad helped hook it up. I went up to Zimbabwe and, at the tender age of 15, I started playing around with Linux boxes and port masters and Cisco routers, and it all started there."
'I thought I was going to pursue an equestrian career'
Ian Brown - Executive chairman, Integrity 360
"I was brought up riding horses so I spent all my youth on a farm and I thought I was going to pursue an equestrian career. And, actually, when I first left school, I joined the racing stables and started to train as a jockey.
"My father worked for a massive electronics business as one of their managers and he was moving offices, and there was a factory with a load of technology equipment in it so I went along one day at the weekend to help him move and there was all this electronic instrumentation such as spectrum analysers and all this computing stuff.
"I got completely fascinated by it and so then I thought, you know what, I think I might pursue a career in it. I got an apprenticeship with Hewlett Packard. They only just started doing traineeships and they took on three people and I was one."
'I thought it would be a stepping stone into my accountancy career'
Mary Hunter - Microsoft business group business applications lead for Europe, Accenture
"After graduating, I was looking for a job as a trainee accountant. I had been temping in accounts offices whilse studying and again after graduating. I had not found a permanent role when I saw a job on an IT help desk supporting accounting solutions.
"I decided this would be great experience and I could use my knowledge and gain new knowledge and it would be a stepping stone into my accountancy career.
"Little did I know, I would never look back. I loved it and learned so much; I fast tracked to a position as a trainer for business applications and then a consultant and into management."
Click through to find out how one reseller boss was persuaded to trade a career with the Met Police for one in IT
Nine tech bosses share their stories of how and why they got into the industry
From leaving behind horse riding ambitions to quitting the police force, here’s how nine tech bosses came to join the industry
'I could still be in the bill nicking dodgy geezers and polishing my truncheon'
Neil Murphy - CEO, Bytes Software Services
"After four years in the Met Police (pictured above) in the 1980's - think inner city riots, strikes by trade unionists, disputes, plenty of aggro, crime, amazing fun, great lifelong friendships - the world of IT beckoned in the form of an offer to sell clone PC's over the phone to small companies.
"My mate Simon Ognall, industry veteran and after-dinner raconteur, convinced me to make the career move over a few pints in a pub in Baker Street in 1988.
"It was the best decision I ever made, or I could still be in the bill nicking dodgy geezers and polishing my truncheon."
'If I did well in physics, I might have ended up being a physicist'
Hatem Naguib - CEO, Barracuda Networks
"I always grew up loving tech. I took classes in school and my first computer was my Apple IIe which I was so excited about. But, to be honest with you, I was an aspiring physicist, and did not achieve what I wanted to do in physics.
"As you can imagine, physics is a very challenging subject and requires a lot of diligence and so I had aspired to that but it wasn't working out, and so I fell back to computer science. And that turned out to be enormously attractive when I was in college and then I just started to pursue a series of tech roles through consulting and through working for large companies, and then eventually did a few startups. And that's how I got into it.
"So it's always been kind of in me, but honestly if I did well in physics, I might have ended up being a physicist."
'My journey into the tech industry was more by chance than design'
Yolanta Gill - CEO, European Electronique
"My journey into the tech industry was more by chance than design. I was born and educated in Poland and gained a master's degree in law at the University of Warsaw. My plan was always to be a lawyer but this became tricky after I met and married an Englishman and moved to the UK.
At this juncture I chose to study for an MBA (master's degree in business administration) at Oxford before joining my husband in 1996 at European Electronique, which was then a small print solutions and maintenance company.
Over the years, European Electronique has grown and diversified into different technologies and has extended its products and solutions portfolio."
Click through to find out which CEO purused an entirely different career before finding their way to distirubtion
Nine tech bosses share their stories of how and why they got into the industry
From leaving behind horse riding ambitions to quitting the police force, here’s how nine tech bosses came to join the industry
'IBM and what the business did other than hardware eluded me - and the IT world seemed slightly greyer in those days.'
Hayley Roberts - CEO, Distology
"After graduating in business, I had the option of working on a graduate scheme for IBM or working for a toiletries company helping to run the retail accounts for the likes of M&S and Next, amongst others.
"Contrary to where I am now, I chose the toiletries business, mostly due to the fact I could conceptualise where it fit and the supply chain was more obvious. IBM and what the business did other than hardware eluded me - and the IT world seemed slightly greyer in those days.
"So, three industry moves later I landed at a distributor, after working as a headhunter for six years, ironically setting up the Dell team in the business' first Moscow office. I had taken some time out to focus on family after the credit crunch in 2008 and decided a change of environment was just what I needed.
"Given my skill set was mainly in sales, marketing and leadership, it was transferable - and I am a big fan of positive change. This was 12 years ago, and I became the second in command at Codework, a small but successful security distributor which predominantly focussed on Symantec. The rest I guess is history."
'The initial pull was it was fast paced'
James Hardy - Managing director, CCS Media
"I was working as an account manager at a mechanical and electrical distributor, so a completely different industry. I then moved into the periphery of the industry working for small computer consumables, print resellers, and then I'm completely grateful to my friend and colleague at CCS Media who was going to join the company and got me a job.
"He got offered a job at CCS Media and we'd worked together previously, and he said to the guys at the company that we kind of work together as a pair. CCS Media were working and moving into becoming a technology business, and the rest is history.
"The initial pull was it was fast paced, and it wasn't like working in in the mechanical electrical distribution or mechanical electrical engineering industry which was very conservative, very slow. A lot of people won't say, but you also move into the IT sector to be paid more money."
'I managed to fall in love with technology at the right time'
Roger Whittle - CEO, Jigsaw 24
"I worked for Apple for six months, fell in love with Apple, and realised that technology was here to stay, and it was going to be the next big thing. And I've been very fortunate to be proven right. I remember a company launching on the stock market on Wall Street called Adobe, which was just a startup then.
"But clearly, I thought technology was going to play a big role. And this was pre-internet, and then the internet came along. I managed to fall in love with technology at the right time."
European Electronique