On the lighter side of things , we ask the industry experts what makes them tick . . . .

Professionally , I ’ d say my most memorable achievement is the work I ’ m currently doing to grow the cloud business at Cloudera . It ’ s been an incredibly rewarding experience , driving innovation and seeing the impact our team is making in the wider industry .

What also stands out is when I earned the EMEA CTO role at Dell EMC . I had been working toward that goal for a long time , and when I finally achieved it , I remember thinking , ‘ What do I do now ?’ It was a moment of reflection – realising that reaching a longterm goal is just the beginning of the journey . That role opened so many doors for me and became an incredible learning experience .

What first made you think of a career in technology ?

I ’ ve had an interest in computers from an early age . It started with building and fixing things . But what really drew me in was the underlying question of ‘ how does this work ?’. This began with a focus on the physical hardware , but over time , I shifted more towards software .

My first job was at an IT reseller , where I started at the bottom and worked my way up , driven by a natural affinity for technology . I began by building servers ,

then transitioned into software , which naturally led me to VMware and eventually to cloud technologies . All of this led me to my current role at Cloudera .

What style of management philosophy do you employ in your current position ?

I ’ m all about empowering my team by giving them the right tools , coaching and leading by example . My approach is open and communicative , and I make sure I can do anything I ask of those I manage .

I follow Sir Clive Woodward ’ s idea of building a strong team by finding the right people and helping them grow . While I encourage everyone to take ownership , I ’ m always there to guide and support . Empowerment is really key for me . I ’ ve been lucky to work with some fantastic leaders who share this philosophy , and seeing how poorly things can go under different leadership styles only strengthens my belief in it .

While AI is the headline , it ’ s also pushing everyone to rethink their data management strategies and infrastructure .

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