Richard Lockey

UK country manager, Crayon

What is your greatest career move to date?

Probably my move to Dimension Data, as it taught me a great deal that helped me in my chosen career. Mostly good, I hasten to add.

What is top of your bucket list?

Seeing my kids have families. Oh, and watching the Masters at Augusta.

What has changed most since you started working in the channel?

The pace of consolidation has changed most; it is now relentless. But then I guess to stay competitive, and up to date with the latest technology and services in the IT industry, it is needed.

How do you think Brexit is going to affect the channel?

I honestly don't know, but if I were a betting man, I would say that is likely to drive further consolidation, particularly foreign companies buying British as I think there will be some pretty good deals due to the value of the pound.

What is your least favourite task during the working day?

It would have to be forecasting - trying to get accurate information from people is an art in itself.

If you were an animal, what would you be?

I'm not entirely sure but if I had to choose it would probably be a dog, as they are a man's best friend, loyal and like to have their tummy tickled.

If you won the big one on EuroMillions, what would you do?

Look after those nearest and dearest to me, buy a villa in the Algarve (I love the golf courses out there), and help my local sports club develop their facilities. I'm not sure I'd make it to the office on Monday morning, though.

What is your worst habit?

I have a few - I can't decide between losing sunglasses, not eating my greens and slicing the ball off the tee.

How has 2016 been for you?

It has been a great year, with a few major events - my new role at Crayon which I'm really enjoying, moving into our new house (well, an old one that I am going to do up) and the highlight being my son starting to enjoy football. On the downside, he supports Arsenal but I can live with that.

If you didn't work in the IT channel, what would be your dream career?

I have always loved sport, so a sportsman of some description, but not one that has all the limelight. Just one that really enjoys what he does.

What major issues will the channel face in 2017?

There will be some big challenges as we battle to see returns from the increasing pace of cloud adoption - that combined with how we help clients address security issues - these are only going to escalate as the hackers and others become ever more sophisticated and determined. There will also be new opportunities driven by the consolidation and acquisition sprees of the major vendors, Microsoft and Dell as an example.