Justin Harling

Managing director, CAE Technology Services

Career so far The art of turning a history degree into a career followed by the ups and downs, but ultimately rewarding experience, of an MBO and leading a great organisation.

If you could be anyone else for a week, who would you be? Boris Johnson might be fun for week just to try out the unique blend of political ruthlessness and entertaining buffoonery.

What will next year's most overhyped industry buzzword be? As reality bites I think even buzzwords will suffer a downturn - we just don't have time to spend on hype. Favourite expression from 2012 is definitely "buttery smooth" to describe a Windows product.

Has 2012 been a good, bad or ugly year? The good has been working on the transformation of CAE for the future. The bad is doing this in such an uncertain economic climate. The ugly has been our business development director, Darren Cozens.

What would you have as your last meal? Anything leading up to cheese and port (with the notable exception of mushrooms - they are just fungus).

What keeps you awake at night? My 18-month-old daughter if a new tooth is coming through.

What piece of technology could you not be without? Reluctantly it is still the BlackBerry but I would like that to change (high hopes for Windows 8). And the dishwasher has got to be right up there.

Have any of your predictions come true this year? I remain undefeated within CAE when it comes to football prediction games despite the number of points I lose by continuously being optimistic when it comes to Liverpool results.

What is the best partner/customer trip you have ever been on? HP in Las Vegas 2005 still brings back a lot of fond memories, but what happens in Vegas…

What do you see as the channel's biggest challenge in 2013? Continuing with a process of having to adapt in the face of rapidly shifting technology and economic change.