Bob Dunnett

Managing director, NG Bailey’s IT Services division

Career so far

Prior to joining NG Bailey, I held various senior management positions within the Carillion organisation. I also used to be customer services director at Monteray.

What was your first job and were you any good at it?

Working on a market stall selling men’s jeans. I was pretty good at it actually and some people said I should have stuck at it. Even today I can tell someone’s clothes size by just looking at them!

Who was your top teenage pin-up?

Pictures of Lily – Google it.

My colleagues won’t know this about me but…

I was once one of the swans in a Swan Lake scouts’ sketch show. Three slightly less lean scouts and I were put into the swan chorus.

What is your favourite snack? Dark chocolate.

What has been your career high point to date? Joining NG Bailey.

Has 2013 been good, bad or ugly?

Good. Optimism has started to creep back into the market and you can just sense it – things are finally starting to feel possible again. Our people and customers are happier and we’re doing well financially too.

What do you say when asked at a party what you do for a living? I tell them I work for an IT services company, to which they usually reply, “What does that mean?”.

If I wasn’t working in the channel I would probably be… the owner of a bustling coffee shop. My wife’s dream is to own and run one.

What will be the channel’s biggest challenge in 2014?

Getting customers to understand which options are right for them. There are so many new technologies coming to market and customers are being bombarded. It’s our job to help them understand and then meet their exact requirements – blanket selling doesn’t cut it anymore.