CEO, Computacenter – 1994-present
When we asked our 60 channel leaders to nominate their top five ‘vendor leaders’, we weren’t necessarily expecting them to put forward their peers at resellers, IT services companies or distributors.
A few did, however, with Giacom’s Terry O’Brien, Insight’s Joyce Mullen, TD Synnex’s Dave Watts, former Softcat CEO Martin Hallewell, Accenture’s Julie Sweet, Ingram’s Matt Sanderson and SCC founder Sir Peter Rigby all receiving votes.
Only one made the top 30 after bagging four nominations, in the shape of the longest-serving FTSE 250 CEO, Mike Norris.
As his 30th anniversary at Computacenter CEO in December approaches, Norris recently told IT Channel Oxygen he is “not going anywhere yet, I promise”. The LSE-listed outfit last year delivered its nineteen consecutive year of growth in adjusted earnings per share as it passed the £10bn sales barrier.
Leadership style
Known for his no-nonsense, straight-talking approach, Norris recently opened up on what drives him after three decades in the hotseat, telling us he “gets a kick out of building something of significance”.
Low points
Norris has continually been branded “boring” by analyst Richard Holway. Thankfully, this is no sleight on his personality; rather, a reference to Computacenter’s uninterrupted profit growth.
Killer quote
“I get a kick out of building it and I want to do it for as long as I can. If Joe Biden can do the most powerful job at 81, you never know how long I can do this for.” (from IT Channel Oxygen interview in April)
What our panellists said about Norris
Marion Stewart, CEO, Red Helix
“In his time as CEO, Mike has led the business steadily though many changes in the tech industry and has continued to set out a very clear strategy for the business for more than two decades that has delivered substantial and sustainable growth.”
How did IT Channel Oxygen compile The Century’s Greatest Vendor Leaders? See here
