Career so far: I am a qualified chartered accountant. I started working in the ICT sector in 1994 as finance director at GPT Video Systems. After a variety of roles selling core networking solutions, initially to BT and then to other service providers worldwide via Siemens, Ericsson and Nortel, I moved to Australia in 2000 to start Marconi's business there.
After growing the Australian business to revenues of £100m by 2004, I took over responsibility for Marconi's business across Asia-Pacific, managing a complex mix of direct sales, joint ventures and channels, including operations in India and China.
In 2006 I joined Ericsson following its acquisition of Marconi and led the enterprise business in Australia and New Zealand before returning to the UK in 2008 to run Damovo UK.
What do you see as the channel's biggest challenge in 2011? Twelve months ago I said the biggest threat would be the impact of public sector spending cuts. In truth it has turned out to be worse than expected and it now looks as if 2011 will be even harder.
The reality of the depth of those cuts is now clear and the Comprehensive Spending Review will shape the whole market in 2011, not just the public sector. The challenge is unprecedented and, in many cases, is going to require a radical approach where success will depend on agility, innovation and a willingness to think radically.
Do you see the cloud as a threat or an opportunity? The cloud is perhaps the most overused and overhyped phrase in our industry, often meaning different things to different people. Yet behind the hype is the reality that organisations are already taking advantage of cloud-based services, and that trend will only grow as more services become available. I see two opportunities that will become threats if ignored. The first opportunity comes from helping our customers to answer two key questions: What services and applications are appropriate to have delivered from the cloud in my business and when? And second, answering those same questions for our own business.
