Bob Swallow

Managing director, Logicalis UK

What is your greatest career move to date?
Making the jump into telecoms and IT after leaving school. Many years later and I'm still enjoying what I do, which I'm aware isn't the case for everyone.

What is top of your bucket list?
I've yet to visit Niagara Falls. That's top of the list right now.

What has changed most since you started working in the channel?
The complexity of solutions available and, as a result, the increased need for specialists. How do you think Brexit is going to affect the channel? In the short term I think it's a bloody pain in the arse. The volatility of the exchange rates is affecting customer budgets and companies like us are having to constantly quote and rebid things. However, in the long term I honestly don't see it having a massive effect on the UK channel.

What is your least favourite task during the working day?
Sieving through my inbox to try and make sense of the what seems like a never-ending stream of emails.

If you were an animal, what would you be? A
grizzly bear. I like salmon, and size matters.

If you won the big one on EuroMillions, what would you do?
I'd travel the world, playing as much golf and tennis as I could along the way.

What is your worst habit?
Drinking too much beer.

How has 2016 been for you?
Between taking the role at Logicalis and Brexit it's been a challenging but enjoyable year.

If you didn't work in the IT channel, what would be your dream career? I'd be a caddie for an international golfer, seeing the world at someone else's expense and hopefully I'd be a lot fitter than I am at the moment.

What major issues will the channel face in 2017?
Continued volatility in the exchange rate as we try and make sense of Brexit. Big players like Amazon Web Services, Google and Microsoft will continue to offer more public cloud, which could be a challenge for the rest of us.