Derek Jones
Managing director, Synaxon UK
Career so far From HM Forces in the 1970s, to the chemical industry from basic salesman to sales training manager. I was then owner/manager of an IT reseller, selling mainly consumables into large corporate accounts, before changing the business to a PC builder/trade distributor (import & export). I then founded and became managing director of Computer Office Group (COG), which merged with Integra Office Solutions in 1998. I was appointed IT channel director at Integra, before I launched Synaxon UK in June 2008.
In parallel to my career within the channel, I was elected as a director of the Professional Computing Association (now TCA) in 1999. I was PCA financial director and was PCA chairman from 2005 to 2009.
Do you care about green IT? Green IT and all things related is vital to the well being of our planet but perhaps for some more importantly our industry. Going green in the IT sector represents a fantastic commercial opportunity. Do I care? Absolutely I do.
If you could be in a rock/pop band, which one would it be and who would you be? Strange as it may seem, the coolest of them all was Dean Martin way back with the ‘Rat Pack' days; and know I wasn't around at the time.
What is the best corporate jolly you have ever been on/taken partners on? For taking partners it has to be several Integra conferences through the late 1990s and early 2000s - Paris, Brussels and Barcelona. The best for me personally was a Samsung invitation to South Korea; wow what a culture shock and what an incredible corporation.
Has 2009 been as bad as everyone said it would be? No, 2009 for me has been one of the best years of my working life; from an industry view point I think tough times create stronger businesses.
Have any of your predictions come true this year? I'm still trying with the lotto numbers but my prediction that the Synaxon concept would work as a UK business has absolutely come true.
What do you see as the channel's biggest challenge in 2010? Credit insurance and poorly organised resellers.
What is the best part of your day? Waking up.