Managing director, EACS
What achievement are you most proud of?
Workwise, winning the Corporate Reseller of the Year Award at the CRN Channel Awards in 2009 – this was a key stage in the company’s development and helped EACS to win wider recognition.
What has been the biggest change in the channel since you started working in it?
The industry is far more mature and professional now than when I first came into it in 1990. This means you have to continually strive to be at the top of your game to both survive and continue to grow. Mobile phones, the internet and the rise of social media have all been, and continue to be, significant influencers in that time.
What three things could you not live without?
My hi-fi, mountain bike and ski holidays are all great for helping me relax and have a good work-life balance, which is so important in order to be a good boss, husband and dad.
What has been your most embarrassing moment so far?
A high-speed crash on my mountain bike two years ago in the Alps which left me hospitalised when I broke both my collarbone and wrist.
What do your family think you do all day?
My immediate family appreciate the effort that’s required to build and manage an organisation of 100+ people and are close enough to what I do to know that I am focused. Mrs Dearlove is occasionally envious of some of the trips that I go on as part of our partner engagements but thankfully she understands the long-term networking and content value associated with these.
Who is your ultimate celeb crush?
Back in the day it was Tanya Roberts – remember her? I would be happy to share a hot mug of cocoa with Scarlett Johansson as and when she’s next free.
What is your guilty pleasure?
While I try to live a relatively healthy lifestyle, I still eat and drink too much of the wrong things; whoever invented chocolate and beer had me on their target list.
What would be your first act if you were made Prime Minister?
Improve food labelling so that if we eat unhealthy foods we do so from a position of knowledge and are not deceived into consuming the wrong foods by misleading information.
Has 2015 been a good, bad or ugly year?
A good year. Our cloud and managed services have both grown significantly while in the background we have been developing a number of business-aligned services for the future.
If you didn’t work in the IT channel, what would you do?
When I left school I didn’t have a clue what I wanted to do. Now, however, I can think of lots of roles where I could add value and which I would enjoy. These include working in motorsport, large-scale event management and being more proactive in charity circles – I am currently a non-executive director for Thera East Anglia which is a charity that cares for people with learning disabilities.
What major issues will the channel face in 2016?
I have concerns that some organisations may sit on the fence with investments in IT during 2016 while cloud solutions and services continue to mature.
