Role: CEO, dbfb
What’s been your business high point of the last 12 months?
Completing our first acquisition has been a real milestone for the business. What made it particularly rewarding was seeing that growth happen while continuing our organic journey, bringing together great people, customers and cultures without losing what makes us different.
Name one thing your company is looking to achieve in 2026
We’re rolling out a new operating platform across the group. The goal is simple: create a better experience for customers, give our teams better visibility, and provide a stronger foundation for the next stage of growth.
What keeps you awake at night as a partner leader?
Balancing growth with maintaining the culture and service standards that got us here in the first place. Organic growth is important, but finding the right acquisition opportunities that genuinely complement the business is equally important.
Is AI being over-hyped?
Like most major technology shifts, there’s probably a bit of hype mixed in with a lot of genuine opportunity. We’re all learning quickly what AI is capable of, but there’s no doubt it will play a significant role in almost every business over the coming years.
What’s been your most successful internal AI project to date, and why?
The deployment of our new Bulk Text customer portal stands out. Using AI tools, we were able to go from concept to delivery in just two weeks and at a fraction of the cost and timescale of a traditional development project.
Can you share a surprising prediction about how UK IT channel partners or the UK IT channel will evolve over the next 5 years?
I think AI could create challenges for some of the larger MSPs serving the SME market. As technology becomes more automated and accessible, businesses may place even greater value on agility, personal service and genuine customer relationships rather than sheer scale.
Which tech gizmo (hardware or software) could you not function without?
My mobile phone. It keeps me connected to customers, colleagues, partners and family, and has probably replaced half a dozen devices I used to rely on.
Which three famous people, dead or alive, would you invite to a dinner party?
Shane Warne would definitely be one. Beyond cricket, he was a fascinating character with an incredible ability to bring people together. I’d also invite Winston Churchill for the stories and perspective, and Steve Jobs to understand how he thought differently about innovation and disruption.
If you had a warning label, what would it say?
Warning: open at your peril. You’ll probably get an opinion, a challenge and a new idea, whether you asked for one or not.
Which tech figurehead has impressed you the most this year, and why?
Dario and Daniela Amodei have been hugely impressive. They’ve disrupted the established order in one of the fastest-moving technology markets we’ve ever seen and shown just how quickly innovation can reshape an industry.
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