Keith Ali

Managing director, Creative ITC

What is your greatest career move to date?

Leaving a leadership position in Cisco to run Creative.

What is top of your bucket list?

Ride East to West Coast on a Harley-Davidson or bungee jump from the Kawarau Bridge, Queenstown NZ. I can't decide.

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

The availability of top technical talent to employ full time. The market is so hot that contracting is carrying little risk so some of the best engineers are preferring contract engagements.

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

That's a tough one, but it could open up more doors for UK businesses to partner and/or be acquired by large EU channel partners as trading will be different.

What is your least favourite task during the working day?

Running to catch the train, having been in traffic for 30 minutes to travel seven miles.

If you were an animal, what would you be?

A golden retriever. I love dogs and golden retrievers are fun, loyal, smart and trustworthy.

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

I've thought about this a lot. I would open a free school to train underprivileged teenagers in networking and general IT so that they can create a career and better life for themselves and their families.

What is your worst habit?

I'm very impatient.

How has 2016 been for you?

It has been one of the most amazing years of my life. Building Creative from a small consultancy company to a global multi-million pound business are what dreams are made of and I'm living the dream.

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

I'd run a dog rescue farm and try to help as many vulnerable dogs that I could.

What major issues will the channel face in 2017?

With clients migrating to cloud-based services and the consolidation of providers, portfolio diversification will be key for channel suppliers due to reduced margins.

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