What has been your business highlight of 2022?
2022 has been a year of travel for me. It was hard in 2020 and 2021 not to be able to travel to see our US operations and our amazing team there, and it has been great to be able to sit down face to face with our customers again wherever they are in the world.
If you were ruler of your own country, what law would you introduce first?
I'm not sure I'm electable, but if by some means or other I did happen to end up running a country I know my priorities should be to eliminate poverty, to eradicate inequality and to secure world peace. Instead I'd just mandate ultra-fast wi-fi on trains with severe punishment for any signal drops in tunnels.
Which channel or tech leader (outside of your own company) has impressed you most in 2022?
Bipul Sinha from Rubrik Inc. He has such a positive entrepreneurial vision, and has taken Rubrik from a 40-person start up when I first met him in 2015 to a 2,000+ employee, multi 10+ billion dollar corporation today. He is also one of the most humble people I have ever met.
If you had a warning label, what would it say?
"WARNING: Do not operate heavy machinery (or run an MSP) under the influence of alcohol."
What was your first job?
I grew up on a farm so I was always helping my dad with jobs, but after leaving home at 18 I got a job as a bingo caller in Hull! No job since has been anywhere near as terrifying or challenging.
What was the last book you read, and was it any good?
I alternate between a business/ grown up book and fiction, and I am a committed Kindle guy. The last business book I read was The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz, which I can highly recommend for anyone growing a tech business. Spoiler alert: It's hard. The last fiction book I read was The One Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out Of The Window And Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson. A beautifully crafted, mischievous Swedish story.
What's the most important lesson you've learned from another business leader or mentor?
I have seen close at hand a number of very successful tech company growth stories fuelled by private equity investment and they have some positive lessons to watch and learn from. I have also witnessed the more challenging aspects of working with outside equity investment. Two of my close friends have grown tech businesses using private equity money and they have not enjoyed that journey. We want to continue to grow Assured Data Protection without recourse to outside money which often feels like a harder path. It does mean as leaders though we answer only to our customers and employees on our future direction, and that makes me very proud.
Who would play you in a movie of your life?
Danny DeVito.
