What has been your journey to Group VP at Enta Technologies?
My journey has been long but fantastic. I started my career with Enta Group as a sales supervisor in our first small premises 20 years ago; I progressed to sales manager and then commercial manager. I am now group vice president, a role which is challenging and rewarding in equal measure!
What has been your best moment in business?
This is a difficult question for me to answer, there have been so many! The greatest moments that stick out in my mind are EntaTech hitting the £5m a year mark, which was closely followed by £10m, £50m and then £100m! The success of the business has been astonishing and I am confident that through our hard work and dedication to our customers this growth will continue.
Of course the fantastic moments in business extend far beyond those that are financial; having worked here for 20 years I have had the pleasure of working with so many great people. It is wonderful to see generations of staff mature both personally and in the business; I have seen many individuals start working with the business as young men and women and establish fantastic careers with us, going on to marry and start their own families.
What was your biggest regret?
I have no regrets in business, we all make mistakes and could do many things better, but such things strengthen our character and add to our experience.
What is the best business advice you have ever been given?
"People rarely remember what you say but they will always remember how you make them feel”, this is something which has stuck with me throughout my career.
Which company (other than yours) do you admire the most and why?
I don’t admire businesses as such; I admire the people behind them. I am in awe of people who dedicate a lot of their personal time to voluntary work, supporting charities and teaching our children skills and sports. The dedication that these people show is truly inspiring. We all feel that we should do more for the young and less fortunate; my excuse is that I don’t have the time as I have a family, however these people also have families, they just choose to get off their backsides and help others.
Which other CEO do you believe has done an outstanding job? Why?
Richard Branson. CEO of the Virgin Group. He is unique and innovative. His leadership inspires others to be successful and drives the ongoing success of the business. Virgin has grown successful businesses and brands in sectors ranging from mobile telephony, travel, financial services, leisure, music, holidays and health and wellness.
What is the single biggest issue facing the channel in 2012?
The channel faces many issues this year, too many to name just one. The three most significant are cash flow (cash is king!), growth and credit to the channel. Through our hard work and commitment to innovation, I believe we will overcome all of these issues.
What’s next for Enta?
We will continue to evolve our business model and products, adapting to the ever-changing IT market. We have exciting new products for great new channels and will deliver fantastic margin-rich products for our existing channel. We are currently finalising plans for our new 100,000 sq. ft. warehouse facility; we have many exciting plans ahead.
