Richard Callis

Co-founder & MD, Metaphor IT

What was your dream career as a child?

A fighter pilot but rubbish eyesight put an end to that one!

What has been your personal highlight of 2019?

It's cheesy, but at home just seeing my young family grow up. At work, Metaphor continues to hit/exceed the targets we set.

Which famous person deserves a (gentle) slap?

Most of our MPs for obvious reasons.

What two things (apart from family) would you grab if your house was on fire?

Old (not digital) photos and some football memorabilia.

Which of your 2019 predictions have come to pass?

I'm not sure I had any predictions.

What TV show have you binge watched this year?

I'm far too impatient to watch most TV programmes but I do watch a decent amount of football.

How has 2019 been from a business perspective?

Great. We set ourselves some ambitious targets with very specific service oriented targets and we're ahead of those, which is a testament to the whole team.

What annoys you most about your commute?

Not much now. There are new trains on my line, air conditioned and I'm lucky enough to miss the rush hours most of the time.

If you could witness one past event, what would it be?

I'm lucky enough to have seen my home team win the Premier League so I'll go for landing on the moon.

How do you explain the channel to people?

A network of people that always want to help!

What have been your favourite and least favourite partner conference destinations?

For the fun aspect, LA has been the best - I managed to sneak in trips to San Diego, San Fransisco and Vegas. I least liked Berlin but only because it was my third visit in that particular year.

What is the biggest challenge facing the channel in 2020?

Vendors seem to want to take more and more directly so resellers need to offer a different value-add. I think as an MSP, Metaphor are ahead of the game here but it'll still be a challenge to adapt to a changing market.