Alex Louth

CEO UK and Ireland, Logicalis

What has been your personal highlight of 2021?

2021 has been an emotional year. One son has gone to university, another to college and the youngest to high school. Watching them develop into good, nice, funny, thoughtful and hardworking people is fantastic and sometimes watching their highlights is as good as my own.

Which tech figurehead has impressed you the most this year, and why?

Elon Musk. Even with the global pandemic, Elon has driven his business to new heights. Space X has continued to amaze, and Tesla is now viewed as a normal car rather than something different. He is a unique character with a wealth of more than $222bn with $52bn from the last year. Now that's impressive even if he is not your cup of tea!

Which one lockdown habit do you plan to keep going?

To keep some of the weekday family meals going. After years of only really eating together as a family at the weekend, lockdown provided a structure that allowed us to do it more often. I hope to keep it going!

Which face-to-face industry event are you most excited to return to, and why?

Tough question! There are so many! I'm really looking forward to the Cisco Partner Summit in 2022 (yes, another 12 months away). I have been in the Cisco world for three years now and I'm hungry to learn more! Their pivot into the new services world is impressive and definitely an opportunity for partners like Logicalis.

The Partner Summit is a great way to learn more, engage better and drive our Cisco vision for tomorrow. Collaborating about the future is so much better in person, and it's in Vegas! (That had nothing to do with the shout out; they're all in Vegas or somewhere just as cool).

If you had the time to learn one new skill, what would it be?

Easy, a language. I was so lazy when I was at school with learning languages. I have asked my children to take languages seriously and learn from me. The youngest has just started Spanish in addition to French. Mira este espacio.

If you could go back in time and tell your childhood self one thing, what would you say?

Not to be lazy with languages.

If you had to sing karaoke, what would be your song of choice?

Well, based on the ‘if you have to', it would probably be I Want It That Way by the Backstreet Boys or World In Motion by New Order. And the England football team chant; come on, we all love the rap!

Sum 2021 up in three words.

Recovery, energised, transforming.