Neil Berville
Executive director, Channel Partner Organisation for UK, Ireland & Benelux, Lenovo W. Europe
Career so far I've spent the last 20 years working at ICL, Sony, Samsung including four years in Belgium… one round-the-world trip - no backpack, just luxury! And one year off with my young family.
Do you care about green IT? Yes. Businesses, consumers and investors are becoming more concerned with issues related to the environment. People increasingly seek environmentally friendly products just as they require faster and lighter notebook PCs. Ultimately, environmentally friendly products can also help companies save money, so it's a win-win situation.
If you could be in a rock/pop band, which one would it be and who would you be? Lead singer in Stereophonics, because my wife likes him, and their music!
What is the best corporate jolly you have ever been on/taken partners on? Probably taking Westcoast to the Far East. Joe Hemani got stuck at Japanese customs for half a day - throwing all our business schedules out. He seriously needed to recover from that ordeal so we made sure our next stop, in Hong Kong, was as luxurious as possible.
Has 2009 been as bad as everyone said it would be? It has been tough, yes. It's been challenging, and that forces you to think more creatively, more competitively and be more dynamic. One concrete example of this process has been Lenovo's unified channel strategy, launched in early October, which delivers an improved sales relationship, consistent approach in the way we support customers and a dedicated channel interface and benefits for business partners. In short, we simplified our customer sales organisation to enable us to strengthen our market coverage and improve market reach.
Have any of your predictions come true this year? Spooky because I'm just watching FlashForward! On a serious note, we knew it was going to be a tough year, but what is really important when you face such a difficult situation is that you have the capability to react and change things to be more efficient. We proved that capability and reviewed our strategy, programs and coverage to simplify the way we work with our partners and drive increased benefits. So, unfortunately predictions for the business landscape have come true, but we have also met our goal of executing an ambitious plan of building a reinvigorated channel model to target those areas that our channel partners consider critical. This leaves us in a great position to drive significant growth, simplify our interaction with the channel and offer our partners a unified value proposition in 2010.
What do you see as the channel's biggest challenge in 2010? To maintain and grow relationships with vendors. In tough economic times, many vendors change course strategically, which usually has a negative impact on channel partners. Relationships between partner and manufacturer become unstable. Lenovo is bucking this trend and showing its commitment to the channel by investing heavily across all elements of our channel set-up to deliver what partners really need: solid strategy and reliable relationships from vendors upon which to build and grow their businesses. Partnering with the channel is one of our highest strategic imperatives for 2010 and we are committed to working through and with our partners to jointly address the vast majority of the market which positions Lenovo to be the PC vendor of choice for the channel.
What is the best part of your day? Going home to my lovely wife and kids!