Robert Gupta

Managing director, Secon

Career so far I have been the managing director of Secon since 2000. Before that I was pre-sales and account manager at Siemen's Databit, account manager at e92plus and owner of Bar Infiniti in Clapham.

What was your first job and were you any good at it? My first job was a Saturday sales assistant in 1987 (I was 15) for Topman in Oxford Circus. I think I was quite good at it as I helped many people get that much closer to dressing like Rick Astley.

Who was your top teenage pin-up? Susanna Hoffs of The Bangles.

My colleagues won't know this about me but... during the time when I owned a bar, I also started a record label and managed to get a record distribution contract from Universal Music.

What is your favourite snack? Salt and vinegar crisps.

What has been your career high point to date? Taking the reins as managing director of Secon.

Has 2013 been good, bad or ugly? 2013 has been a good but ugly year. We have grown our sales by more than 30 per cent but have had to carefully manage the growth pains that come with it.

What do you say when asked at a party what you do for a living? I say I'm the managing director of a malware and cyber attack monitoring and incident response company.

If I wasn't working in the channel I would probably... have still been in the IT industry, but actually working for an end user in some kind of development or infrastructure management type role.

What will be the channel's biggest challenge in 2014? The monopolisation of the distribution layer of channel.