CRN Channel Awards - Finalist Q&A with David Watts, Senior Vice President, UK & Ireland, TD SYNNEX

David Watts talks being a finalist at this year's CRN Channel Awards

Why do the awards matter?

They matter because they set a standard in the industry. They identify the businesses that are going above and beyond to support their partners and their customers. And we all like a competition and the opportunity to win!

What winning this award would it mean to your company?

Every one of our co-workers is competing with someone who does their job at another distributor. The award would be for them. Everyone at TD SYNNEX contributes to our success - directly or indirectly supporting our partners.

What is your company's proudest achievement in the past year?

I'm proud that we've achieved such high-ranking status with Great Place to Work on a consistent basis and that we are seen as an employer that is compassionate, fair, and open to its co-workers. It’s good for our team and good for our partners.

What have been the biggest challenges of 2025 so far and how have your people helped you overcome them?

The biggest challenges have been a lack of economic stability and confidence, and vastly different rates of adoption that we’ve seen in different technology areas. We could not have continued to offer the consistent and personalised service that we have provided to our partners over the past year without our co-workers, who have once again showed their selfless determination and dedication to supporting both our vendor and reseller partners regardless of where they are on their technology journeys.

How is the industry changed over the past year? What changes does it still need to make?

Every year our partners and vendors need more support aggregating and efficiently transacting solutions. Partnerships therefore continue to grow in importance.

What do you see as the main opportunities for the industry over the next year? How do you plan to capitalise on them.

Clearly AI is a huge opportunity and we're clear how to help partners capitalise on the opportunity. Security and cloud remain key areas of focus where we can support profitable growth for our partners. We will continue to invest in our people, our platforms, and our processes to ensure that we can support partners in addressing all their opportunities.