I got a first-class honours degree in Computing and Chemistry, but only after a miserable attempt at A-levels, and decided to take the money and join Intel rather than stay in academia.  I moved from programming to analysis to IT operations management at Unilever, then into management consultancy with KPMG. From there, I took a director role in a niche healthcare business intelligence company in order to avoid divorce and get a home-life back, and in spite of being on the small-business rollercoaster ride (both fun and scary), I at least managed to avoid divorce. I wanted to broaden my experience outside of the healthcare sector, so I joined Catalyst which, via Notability, became part of Logicalis - three company moves in five years from the comfort of the same desk!

What are you working on right now?

I'm busy with growth plans for our application integration business, which is taking Logicalis into larger business transformation projects.

Who or what has been the greatest influence on your career to date?

My wife and children - why else would I have to work so hard?

Who in business do you most admire - and why?

I admire people I can learn from, who understand that the purpose of power is to serve others rather than one's self.

What aspect of your job do you find the most satisfying?

The buzz you get from a phone conversation in which the customer awards you a long-term project. I love sales for its very simple measurement of success.

What has been your most valuable lesson learnt?

First, make life's decisions by imagining yourself looking back on your life at 90 from a nursing home. If you think you will regret not doing something, then you just have to do it. Second, with relationships, give 95% and expect 5%. My wife is far better at this than I am. Third, with food, don't eat anything bigger than your head.

Which are you favourite websites and blogs?

My use of the web tends to be for business or practical purposes, rather than recreational ones. I spend enough time in front of a screen and prefer to swap this for glass of a different type, usually filled with red stuff.

How do you spend your downtime? Where? With who?

In Hereford Cathedral listening to my son Alex singing in the choir (before his voice breaks). I'm off to evensong shortly...

What lifetime ambition have you yet to achieve?

There are too many to list. Becoming financially independent being the most boring, sitting on the loo in an airplane during landing being the most bizarre (if you are wondering why, same reason Sir Edmund Hilary gave for climbing Everest).

Tell us one thing that most people don't know about you...

I have two daughters (19 and 17) and a son (12) - nothing unusual there, other than I am also the youngest boy with two elder sisters, as was my father and my grandfather. The Shepherd line hangs by a thread. Over to you, Alex ...

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