Role: Owner, Academia and Founder of Strive Capital
What’s been your business high point of the last 12 months?
Seeing the integration of Academia and Smartdesc coming together as one.
Name one thing your company is looking to achieve in 2026
Exceeding budget.
What keeps you awake at night as a partner leader?
What keeps me awake at night is making sure I’m continuing to add value to the business and to the management team. Even after nearly 40 years, I still question myself every day – am I providing the right guidance, mentoring effectively, and passing on the experience that helps the team execute and grow the business? My focus is on empowering the management team, maintaining confidence in both the team and the plan, and ensuring we keep moving forward financially. The day I stop adding value or become stale is the day I should be asking myself some difficult questions.
Is AI being over-hyped?
Yes, I think it is currently but there will be a recorrection.
What’s been your most successful internal AI project to date, and why?
I will tell you in three months. We are just about to deploy an AI project into the business. We’re using an AI consultant to improve the processes within our business.
Can you share a surprising prediction about how UK IT channel partners or the UK IT channel will evolve over the next 5 years?
More consolidation.
Which tech gizmo (hardware or software) could you not function without?
iPad.
Which three famous people, dead or alive, would you invite to a dinner party?
David Beckham, George Michael, Nelson Mandela.
If you had a warning label, what would it say?
Don’t assume anything in life or take anything for granted.
Which tech figurehead has impressed you the most this year, and why?
Palantir has been very impressive this year. It has moved from being viewed as a niche government contractor to being seen as one of the companies benefiting most directly from the AI boom. Their share price has experienced remarkable growth.
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