Darren Phelps
Director, channel & SMB UK & Ireland, Lenovo UK
Career so far I’ve worked in the IT industry for 18 years across distribution, product management and channel leadership. I started my career as a sign-writer after art school, but quickly realised there were more career opportunities in IT.
If you could be anyone else for a week, who would you be? The manager of Fulham FC. I’m a lifelong fan and would love to lead the club in the final week of the Premiership when we (finally) take the Premier League title. Well I can dream, can’t I?
What will next year’s most overhyped industry buzzword be? None I hope – buzzwords are the curse of the IT industry.
Has 2012 been a good, bad or ugly year? For us it’s been a fantastic year – we’ve grown in a healthy way across our whole business. Channel revenues are up; we’re trading with more partners and our market share grew 20 per cent year to year from 2010 to 2011 – most other vendors declined significantly.
What would you have as your last meal? Fillet steak (medium rare) and chips, followed by crème brulee and washed down with a pint of London Pride. (But I'm really not that fussy!)
What keeps you awake at night? Health, happiness of my wife, children and family. Oh and delivering on commitments to our channel.
What piece of technology could you not be without? My X230 Series Lenovo Thinkpad. of course! And my X1 Carbon, which I don’t have yet.
Have any of your predictions come true this year? We remain the fastest growing PC company in the world. A position we’ve held for nearly three years now.
What is the best partner/customer trip you have ever been on? The 2012 Computacenter Golf Challenge at La Manga. What goes on tour, stays on tour!
What do you see as the channel’s biggest challenge in 2013? The core challenge for the channel remains the same – driving growth while maintaining margins. However, in the PC sector it’s about getting business models right so that partners can seize the opportunities that new devices such as tablets bring. There is a more diverse product set than ever before and users have more diverse requirements, too.