DEEP DIVE
WE ‘DEEP DIVE’ WITH ANDREW STEVENS,
PRESIDENT AND CEO, CNET TRAINING, WHO TELLS
US ABOUT LIFE INSIDE AND OUTSIDE THE OFFICE.
CNet Training provides communications-based
education and training across the entire US, EMEA
and Asia-Pacific regions. Andrew Stevens is
President and CEO of CNet Training and is here
to tell us how he likes to relax and unwind
outside the office.
What would you describe
as your most memorable
achievement?
I think my most memorable achievement
on a personal level was to cycle over
400 miles in four days with a small
group of friends to raise money for
a cancer charity. I agreed to the feat
in my usual fashion of ‘what could
possibly go wrong’ and, as always
with me, once I said I was doing it,
then failure was not an option.
From a work perspective, my
most memorable achievements
are every time I see my team
recognised for the brilliant
professional work they do. It
makes me very proud that they
get the recognition they deserve.
What first made you
think of a career in
technology?
I didn’t think of a career in
technology, I fell into it. My
story was more about the way
in which I preferred to learn
and that the pure academic
route didn’t suit me. I left
university – it really bored
me – and started as a junior
internal salesperson with
a network infrastructure
manufacturer, back in 1988.
What style of
management
philosophy do you
employ with your
current position?
I believe that as you and your company
move through the phases of development
and growth, your management philosophy
requires some changes. I currently see
myself as a facilitator and my job is to
ensure that all the talented and dedicated
people around me have all the tools
at their disposal to drive the business
forward to achieve our stated and yet
to be stated goals. I need to look at the
business and think about what it needs
in the next five years – that might be
new skillsets, new direction, new levels
or empowerment, but most of all for the
people around me to know that as the
leader, I am primarily focused on looking
out for them and protecting them. When
a team feels safe and empowered, it is
amazing what they will achieve.
What do you think is the current
hot technology talking point?
Currently, the shift has obviously focused
on the digital first responders (all those
in the digital infrastructure industry)
who support the medical and care
first responders and how the digital
infrastructure industry is supporting
the new norm of working, playing and
communicating from home. This, of
course, brings challenges
but it is certainly one that the
industry has been scaling
up for. I have said for a long
time it is impossible to actually
predict how a service, product
or cultural shift will occur or be
adopted because it is based
on consumer decision-making,
social acceptance and individual
needs. I think the industry will
need to reflect on these past few
weeks and decide on how it best
encourages people to adopt all
the things that have occurred for
the benefit of sustainability and try
and make those stick.
How do you deal with
stress and unwind outside
the office?
If anyone reading this knows me, they
would agree I love to socialise, play and
watch sport and then socialise again and
mainly laugh at myself. I don’t really do
stress. I enjoy pressure and challenges
and try to break down anything that may
be deemed as stress into things that I
can deal with. I don’t believe in worrying
about things that I can’t shape and I always
66 Issue 17
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