Commercial director, Exertis
What is your greatest career move to date?
Coming to work for Exertis in January of this year, obviously!
What is top of your bucket list?
I have never been down under and as I'm a bit of an adrenaline junkie I'd like to visit New Zealand and indulge in some of its high-octane activities.
What has changed most since you started working in the channel?
Some obvious things have changed dramatically such as the growth of online, cloud and so on. Smartphones have changed all of our worlds beyond all recognition. Margins have also got tighter as certain sectors have commoditised. It's still a relationship-driven business though and many of the same great characters are still going strong that were around when I started. Not least many of the Exertis board of directors.
How do you think Brexit is going to affect the channel?
The most immediate and ongoing challenge has been managing Forex as the pound dropped against the dollar. There are difficult decisions ahead for many hardware vendors on when to raise prices, which is the inevitable consequence. Longer term, who knows?
What is your least favourite task during the working day?
The constant email bombardment.
If you were an animal, what would you be?
The ability to fly would be good, so some kind of bird.
If you won the big one on EuroMillions, what would you do?
Buy a serious camper van and roam aimlessly around the world with my wife writing classic albums as I go.
What is your worst habit?
An incurable red wine habit.
How has 2016 been for you?
Great. I love being back in the hectic and varied world of distribution, where I first started my IT career. There's never a dull moment and every day is different.
If you didn't work in the IT channel, what would be your dream career?
Musician. I play guitar and sing, and did it full time for a few years as a younger man. I still play in a Dad band now just for the fun of it.
What major issues will the channel face in 2017?
Uncertainty over Brexit and consolidation is happening at a phenomenal rate in distribution and vendor land.
