Role: Managing Director, Highgate IT Solutions
What’s been your business high point of the last 12 months?
Moving up a company size category and still finishing 4th in the Best Place to Work rankings. It’s particularly rewarding because it reassures us that we’re preserving the culture we’ve cultivated as we grow.
Name one thing your company is looking to achieve in 2026
Achieving ISO 9001 and ISO 27001 certification. We’ve always focused on quality and security, and formalising those standards is the next logical step in our growth.
What keeps you awake at night as a partner leader?
Much less these days than in the past. As a self-funded business, cash flow and unpaid invoices used to keep me awake at night. After 16 years, I’ve learned that some things take longer than you’d hope and experience has helped me rest easier as a result.
Is AI being over-hyped?
No, as with many emerging technologies there’s plenty of hype around the edges, yet the underlying impact is real. It will reshape how businesses operate over the next decade and beyond.
What’s been your most successful internal AI project to date, and why?
Automating the processing of inbound invoices. The system now automatically matches around 95% of invoices, saving significant admin time and allowing our team to focus on higher-value work.
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 (and hope) human relationships will become more important as technology becomes increasingly automated. As AI makes products and services more alike, trust, reputation and long-term relationships will matter even more in the channel.
Which tech gizmo (hardware or software) could you not function without?
Large language models. They’ve become a genuine productivity tool, helping me research, analyse and learn faster than ever before, both inside and outside the office.
Which three famous people, dead or alive, would you invite to a dinner party?
Based on the last few books I’ve read, I’d choose Herodotus, Tim Spector and Flight Lieutenant Colin Bell. I suspect the conversation would be fascinating and unpredictable.
If you had a warning label, what would it say?
‘Beware, unfiltered northerner’.
Which tech figurehead has impressed you the most this year, and why?
Jensen Huang. NVIDIA’s long-term vision and willingness to invest years ahead of demand have been extraordinary. Many of the advances we’re seeing in AI today would have taken much longer without that foresight.
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