you just need to hire the right people and
support them when they need it.
When half of
my team live in
different countries,
you just need
to hire the right
people and support
them when they
need it.
What do you think will be the hot
technology talking point of 2020?
In terms of talking points I keep hearing
cloud, Blockchain, AI and even people
who manage to use all three in the same
sentence, not necessarily achieving
anything! I still think we are at a tipping
point where IT people will see their roles
change and managing infrastructure
becomes a service you buy and ‘adding
value to the business’ becomes the real
role of IT. Unfortunately, there are still
few IT people who can talk about business
outcomes of IT and demonstrate a real ROI
from technology spend.
What are your personal interests
and where do you like to spend
most of your time after work?
When I go home it’s family time, walking
the dogs, eating as a family (I do a mean
barbecue) and telling dad jokes to my long-
suffering family. If I get to ski once a year and
ride horses occasionally that is a plus point.
How do you cope with stress and
demands of your career?
A few years ago a friend of mine invited me
to attend an ‘Art of Living’ course which
is basically breathing exercises, Yoga and
60
meditation. I still use some of the breathing
techniques and should really go back and do
more of it as stress is an inevitable part of an
IT sales role.
What gives you great
job satisfaction?
I like to build new things, especially teams of
people and that is what I have done with my
team of four people at Veeam.
I still think we are
at a tipping point
where IT people
will see their roles
change and managing
infrastructure becomes
a service you buy and
‘adding value to the
business’ becomes the
real role of IT.