James Perkins

Career so far: I spent 12 years at technology distributor Ingram Micro where I was promoted to sales director. I also worked in finance and business planning and analysis roles before joining Nimans in April this year from Birmingham-based technical outsource specialist Qcom. I was employed as a business development director and focused on pre- and post-sales services.

If you could be anyone else for a week, who would you be and what would you do? Golfer Martin Kaymer – on his current run of form with four tournament victories in a row.

What would you have as your last meal? Seafood – I can’t get enough of the stuff.

What is the best corporate jolly you have ever been on/taken partners on? The one that stands out is a Christmas shopping trip to New York. It was awesome.

Do you see the cloud as a threat or an opportunity? It’s definitely a great opportunity, but also a challenge in terms of changing people’s mindsets and moving away from product-based revenue-generating business models.

Have any of your predictions come true this year? Continued consolidation. Many acquisitions have taken place this year as companies try and emulate the extensive dealer base we have.

What do you see as the channel’s biggest challenge in 2011? There are so many good opportunities out there. For us, we are trying to focus our internal business on key initiatives that can meet our growth aspirations for 2011.

What is the best part of your day? The variety and achieving results.