Richard Btesh

Career so far I am a dealmaker with experience of more than 100 transactions (M&A, IPOs and JVs including cross border) as a corporate advisor and within the industry, on the board of listed and unlisted companies. At Chess Limited (a telecoms reseller), I have led the growth in turnover from £4m to £45m as a result of my bank-supported acquisition activity.

If you could be anyone else for a week, who would you be and what would you do? Mick Jagger (in the Sixties) enjoy the music, “wine” and women.

Cloud – friend or foe? It’s an opportunity.

Has 2011 been as bad as everyone said it would be? No. Like all debtors, sovereign debtors find it difficult to understand the mess they are in and find a solution. If the US, Germany, France et al are too big to go bust and can perpetuate the myth for long enough, then corporate activity can, in time, save the world.

What would you have as your last meal? A 12-course meal, I guess, to make it last: Greek meze, Dover sole, rib-eye steak and finish it all off with death by chocolate.

Who would you like to be stuck in a lift with? Five supermodels (this would not be a time for intellectual debate).

Have any of your predictions come true this year? Yes, once again I have been staggeringly accurate. I started with predicting I would be invited back on the CRN A-list…

What do you see as the channel's biggest challenge in 2012? Survival. Just when you thought things were tough, they are going to get tougher. As ever, those willing to embrace change will survive.

What is the best part of your day? All day is good. If you do not enjoy what you are doing, do something else.