Dan Scarfe

UK founder, New Signature

Which tech figurehead do you admire the most?

Satya Nadella. He has brought a completely different style of leadership to Microsoft, emphasising empathy and intellectual curiosity. No tech leader has ever created so much equity value in such a short space of time in the history of our industry. He has proven once and for all that culture eats strategy for breakfast.

What's the biggest challenge facing the industry no-one is talking about yet?

In the Microsoft world, the growth of the new CSP licensing programme will lead to even greater channel conflict. Solutions providers and integrators are now able to compete directly with licensing service providers to provide end-to-end cloud solutions to customers.

If you could invite three famous people to dinner, who would they be?

Alan Turing, Ada Lovelace and Joseph Chamberlain.

How has 2017 been for you?

Incredible. The Microsoft Cloud continues to go from strength to strength and many are now saying Azure will overtake Amazon in the near future. Combined with Office 365, Dynamics 365 and a hybrid deployment model it is emerging as the clear end-to-end leader in the cloud world.

What's the most extravagant business lunch you've ever had?

An exquisite lunch on the beach in Cannes.

Which global city best matches your personality?

London. Innovative, open and fast-paced.

What would be your super-hero power?

The ability to see into the future. Who wouldn't want to know what's around the next corner!

Complete this sentence. The worst thing about our rivals is… espousing FUD - compete on the merits of your own platforms rather than creating fear and unknowing about ours.

What makes you nervous?

The increasing sophistication of cyber criminals and the threat they pose to us all.

If you could eat one type of food for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Sushi.

Sum up the channel in three words

Adaptive, inventive, yet in flux.