Andrew 'Budge' Burgess

Managing director, JMC IT, team principal of Team JMC

What was the worst job you have ever had?

Pulling the insides out of 1,000 chickens back in 1980. I was an Air Cadet on a trip to an RAF base in Germany and we got given some really crap jobs.

Which actor would you pick to play you in a movie of your life?

I’m the same age as Brad Pitt, Russell Crowe, Nicholas Cage and Clive Owen. Andy Serkis is also the same age as me and is much more used to playing challenging characters – another outing for the CGI suit Andy!

What do you do as your party trick?

Drink little, disappear early. Normally, I am bike racing at weekends so I need to look after myself.

What is your favourite chocolate bar?

The darkest of dark chocolate, ideally with chilli. What has been the highlight of your career to date? Establishing Team JMC and seeing some of the amazing things colleagues have achieved with our support.

Has 2014 been a good, bad or ugly year?

It’s been a very good year with big growth on the back of our substantial investment in our managed services support proposition and a number of great bits of recognition, including placing 15th in The Sunday Times Best Companies to Work for survey. For the fourth consecutive year, we were awarded the highest-possible three-star status from Best Companies.

We also won the Salford Business Award for Business Excellence and were named Large Business of the Year. We were highly commended at the BCS & Computing UK IT Industry Awards, with judges noting our commitment to providing outstanding customer service and innovative IT support.

We also won the British Chamber Awards Commitment to People Development award and were a finalist in the Skills for Business Awards Medium Business of the Year category, recognised for our outstanding contribution to skills and learning in the region.

How would you explain the IT channel to a stranger without boring them to death?

Not possible. Talk about sport instead.

Aside from the channel, my dream career would be…

I always wanted to be a fighter pilot and had a chance in my early days, but I wasn’t compatible with the disciplinary regime. My dad has forgiven me now though.

What major issues will the channel face in 2015?

The transition of revenues from upfront to annuity remains the biggest single challenge. The impact of the shift will affect all elements of a resellers operation and, if not managed well, could have significant negative impact.