Career so far: Prior to BT Engage IT, in June 2005 I became chief executive of Redstone after completing a reverse takeover of Redstone plc by my private equity backed ICT company, Xpert Group. I was chief executive of Xpert Group, a role I held from February 2004 after joining the Xpert Group board in April 2002 as group finance director. Before joining Xpert I worked for Hays for five years, where I held several senior financial and commercial roles within the group. I finished as president of Hays IMS based in Houston and Dallas, Texas. Prior to Xpert I qualified as a chartered accountant with Deloitte & Touche, where I worked for five years, including a secondment to Johannesburg, South Africa.
If you could be anyone else for a week, who would you be and what would you do? Bill Gates - I'd retire and spend my time messing around with my kids.
What would you have as your last meal? My wife's chilli.
What is the best corporate jolly you have ever been on/taken partners on? I've taken a group of customers and prospects to watch the Monaco Grand Prix. The weather was fantastic and everything went really well. I even converted a couple of target accounts into customers.
Do you see the cloud as a threat or an opportunity? It can only be an opportunity. It gives you something to talk about with customers and prospects, enables you to do business where you thought you couldn't, and encourages a managed service environment, which is significantly more stable albeit lower revenues.
Have any of your predictions come true this year? I predicted we would see a double-dip recession and I still believe this. I cannot see how, if the levels of public expenditure discussed in the media are accurate, this will not cause another drop in total UK demand for ICT.
What do you see as the channel's biggest challenge in 2011? Coming to grips with cloud computing and how to make money from it.
What is the best part of your day? The first hour, usually early, when I can think about the challenges ahead and organise my day to best complete them. And, on a Friday, getting home, knowing that the rest of the weekend is family time.
