Director cloud UK&I, Ingram Micro Cloud
What was your dream career as a child?
I was fascinated with cars and really wanted to become a racing driver.
What has been your personal highlight of 2019?
2019 has been a very strong year for me personally. I've been with Ingram a little over two years and we've gone from strength to strength building the team out, onboarding new vendors and evolving our GTM to be more technology focused, which I'm proud of. Leading the pitch to secure exclusivity for McAfee, launching AWS and continuing to grow our cloud business is a massive highlight for me personally as I feel this demonstrates how far we're come as a business in the enterprise technology space.
I even managed to get my son's U10s team, which I manage, to start to win a few games, too!
Which famous person deserves a (gentle) slap?
There's a few, to be fair! In all seriousness though I don't think it's appropriate for me to answer this with the current climate and focus on language being used, I wouldn't want it to be construed in the wrong way.
What two things (apart from family) would you grab if your house was on fire?
I'd say my dogs but include them in my family so it would unfortunately be my phone (I can't live without it) and my car key!
Which of your 2019 predictions have come to pass?
I'm passionate that end users want/need problems solving rather than point solutions delivering, which I think has accelerated in 2019. Technology focus is more and more important (rather than product). That and the fact Manchester United have won nothing, to my frustration!
What TV show have you binge watched this year?
There has been a few but Peaky Blinders is up at the top. Great characters and really good, gripping storylines!
How has 2019 been from a business perspective?
2019 has been a great year and we've continued to grow our enterprise business across cloud, hardware and software. This is across existing vendors and signing up new vendors that fit our strategy across cybersecurity, UCC and cloud.
What annoys you most about your commute?
I have a good balance for my commute as I'm not always in the office. I have a good train connection from Manchester to Milton Keynes with good links from Manchester across the country and the world.
If you could witness one past event, what would it be?
I'd love to be in the room when Sir Winston Churchill gave his speech. When I hear it, I feel immensely proud for what that generation defended for us and it always makes the hairs stand up on my neck.
How do you explain the channel to people?
I use sports shops & brands like Nike/Adidas. The sports shop you buy your trainers from are like channel partners and those shops get the items either directly from Nike/Adidas (the vendors) or from wholesalers (distribution). If the wholesalers work closely with the sports shop to help with promotions, advertising and sales techniques, then they become "value added".
What have been your favourite and least favourite partner conference destinations?
I went to San Diego for our WW Cloud summit. It's an amazing place, great venue for conference as the Gaslamp district is an incredibly welcoming place to socialise while being conveniently located to the conference facilities. I don't really have a least favourite - obviously Las Vegas is used a lot but I like it!
What is the biggest challenge facing the channel in 2020?
Differentiation. With the continuing evolution of technology and the need for business to innovate at pace, the channel needs to be prepared to meet these demands and make the right decisions (and commitment) to partnerships.
