Role: CEO, BDR Group
What’s been your business high point of the last 12 months?
I’d usually say M&A, because I just love it, and nothing gives me a buzz like it. But I’m enjoying seeing the software model mature under the bonnet of the business. It’s taken a lot of work – millions of pounds of investment.
Name one thing your company is looking to achieve in 2026
We’re looking to enrol every single one of our clients into our SOC, which we’re about 90% through. We’re building out our own AI product portfolio. And there’s a potential acquisition we could double in size off. Those are probably the three things I would love truly to see us deliver on.
What keeps you awake at night as a partner leader?
Nothing. I’m 16 years at BDR, and you just become a bit hardened to it all. I’m a salesperson at heart, and all I want to see is better close ratios when I close my eyes.
Is AI being over-hyped?
I think we need to break it down and take our customer base on an AI adoption readiness campaign – then let’s see what they can truly do. Then we’ll know what the hype is.
What’s been your most successful internal AI project to date, and why?
Overwatch. We’ve developed our own product, which is built in data sovereignty and governance, and is spinning off thousands of opportunities from our client base. It’s essentially going in, doing full analysis, and making recommendations on what the customers need to do to get Cyber Essentials Plus and cybersecurity up to a high standard. We’re using it to analyse our customer base to tell them what projects they should be adopting.
Can you share a surprising prediction about how UK IT channel partners or the UK IT channel will evolve over the next 5 years?
My surprise prediction is that I think customers aren’t ready to deal with robots and AI bots. I think customer experience won’t mature as fast as AI does.
Which tech gizmo (hardware or software) could you not function without?
You’re asking the wrong bloke. I’m the most basic user in the world, so I’m just going to go with my phone.
Which three famous people, dead or alive, would you invite to a dinner party?
Genghis Khan, Darius the Great and Einstein.
If you had a warning label, what would it say?
Doesn’t shut up.
Which tech figurehead has impressed you the most this year, and why?
Probably Dario Amodei from Anthropic. It’s just quite a remarkable thing that’s taken place.
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