With over 20 years of experience in the technology sales and operations arena, Alastair is Business Transformation Director at Softcat plc, a leading technology solutions provider and a FTSE 250 listed company. He has had a distinguished career at Softcat, starting in sales and moving into a number of leadership positions including Sales Operations, Supply Chain, Sustainability and more recently Business Transformation.

Amanda Sleight is a veteran IT professional with over 30 years of experience. She has held leadership roles at Microsoft, SAP, and AWS, focusing on partner and sales strategies across Europe, Middle East and Africa. Currently, as the General Manager for the UK Public Sector at Microsoft, Amanda is dedicated to leveraging technology and AI to enhance citizen services and support government agility and innovation.

After a corporate career spanning over 35 years, Angela has now swapped Exec for Non-Exec roles. Using skills learnt at the likes of networking giant, Cisco and global MSP, Ampito, she is assisting the leadership team at Cameo Services to grow and shape its future direction supporting the IT Channel. Additionally, Angela is a trustee at the Business Disability Forum, whose aim is to champion inclusivity in the workplace for people with visible and non-visible disabilities. Challenging the status quo around all things DEI is something that Angela is hugely passionate about.

Ben Allcock is a senior commercial leader with over 28 years of experience in sales, strategy, and organisational leadership across the UK&I and EMEA technology sectors. As Vice President of B2B UK&I at TP-Link, he leads the company’s largest B2B organisation in EMEA, guiding a team of nearly 40 professionals and shaping the strategic direction, revenue growth, and go to market execution for the region.

In his current role, Ben holds full responsibility for the UK & Ireland B2B revenue strategy, sales leadership, technical and product management functions, cross functional alignment, channel and partner development, and the continuous enhancement of customer experience. His leadership blends commercial discipline with a strong focus on collaboration, clarity, and long term value creation.

Across his career, Ben has held senior roles within global technology companies, consistently developing high performance teams, building new routes to market, and delivering sustained growth across Consumer, SMB, and Enterprise segments. He has cultivated a broad and trusted network across the technology supply chain, grounded in partnership, transparency, and shared success.

Since joining TP-Link in 2011 as Sales and Commercial Director, Ben has been instrumental in the company’s expansion and early market success. His promotion to Vice President in September 2025 reflects his significant contribution to the organisation, the exceptional growth of the B2B division, and TP-Link’s ambition to become a leading force in the UK&I B2B market.

Ben’s leadership philosophy centres on partnership and mutual success. “Our partners are at the heart of everything we do, from product development to service delivery,” he says. “We’re committed to growing together through trust, collaboration, and shared success.”

Bruce is an experienced IT channel leader with 28+ years in the global technology ecosystem and currently serves as International Channel Director at Alkira, where he is responsible for building Alkira’s partner ecosystem across EMEA and APAC.

He has spent the past six years developing vendor-side partner programmes and channel go-to-market strategies across EMEA, following a successful career in value-added distribution.

A long-time channel advocate, mentor, and CRN Awards judge for 13 years, Bruce is passionate about strategic channel development and the value of the partner ecosystem.

Carl has worked in the IT and Market Research industry for over 20 years. Carl has worked in distribution, reseller, vendor and market research businesses. Carl has been a judge for CRN Channel Awards for over 10 years.

Craig Cheshire is a senior commercial leader with extensive experience across the technology and channel ecosystem. Known for his strategic mindset and people-first approach, Craig has led high-impact commercial initiatives and built strong partnerships across vendors, distributors and partners.

Now in his fifth year as a judge for the CRN Awards, Craig brings a deep understanding of what drives genuine excellence in the UK technology channel. He is particularly passionate about recognising organisations that combine strong performance with integrity, innovation and long-term vision, and values awards programmes that help raise standards across the industry.

Gina founded her first agency MCC International in her early 20s and grew it to be one of the UK’s largest regional consultancies before moving on to set up a successful PR division at WLM.Digital where she was co-owner and Communications Director for 7 years. Now back into consultancy, she’s working with a great team of freelancers and global partner agencies, offering a wider range of services to clients and drawing on the knowledge she’s built up over the past 30 years. Gina spends a lot of time mentoring and training and her hands on, tell it how it is approach to managing clients’ expectations has never changed. Journalists know what to expect from her and she’s built up some great contacts during her career. Humour and an abhorrence of pretentiousness have always stood her in good stead and she’s currently enjoying her third time round the working wheel.

Ian was a founder of the Wick Hill Group, an international award-winning value-added distributor focused on cybersecurity and continued that for a number of years as director when they were then acquired by Nuvias.

Ian is co-founder of Tech Channel Ambassadors, a CIC dedicated to changing the lives of students by introducing them to opportunities in the IT supply chain.

He is trustee and chair of The STEM Generation Charity, which supports investigative science education in primary schools.

He is also a trustee of Make 2nd count, a leading charity giving hope to those with secondary breast cancer.

In addition to this, Ian is a Non-Executive Director at Northamber plc.

Ian is a highly respected leader in the cybersecurity and IT Channel space, boasting over 20 years of industry experience, 15 of which have been focused on cybersecurity. His passion extends beyond technology; it lies in empowering individuals and businesses.

A decade ago, Ian established a multi-award-winning cyber services provider with the vision to redefine industry standards. His relentless drive and strategic foresight culminated in a successful acquisition, transforming the business into a market-leading Security Operations Centre (SOC).

Ian’s expertise encompasses Strategy, Sales Leadership, Planning, and Business Management, but what truly distinguishes him is his leadership style, which is grounded in collaboration, mentorship, and an unwavering commitment to the success of those he supports. He doesn’t merely provide solutions; he fosters relationships, guiding Channel Partners and MSSPs to unlock growth and resilience in an increasingly complex cybersecurity landscape.

As a consultant, Ian serves as a catalyst for change. His ability to distil complex challenges into clear, actionable strategies empowers businesses to take bold steps forward. With an infectious passion for his speciality and a natural talent for bringing out the best in people, Ian is not only a trusted advisor but also an inspiring force in the industry, making him a natural choice to judge and celebrate excellence in the Channel.

Iwona Zalewska is a dynamic commercial leader driving Kingston Technology’s success across the UK, Ireland, and the wider EMEA region.

As Regional Director for the UK & Ireland and DRAM Business Manager for EMEA, she plays a pivotal role in shaping Kingston’s market strategy, accelerating growth, and strengthening the company’s leadership in memory and storage.

In her UK & Ireland leadership role, Iwona oversees all sales and marketing activity across Kingston’s full product portfolio. She leads the Business Development Managers, directs the UK Inside Sales Team, oversees the EE Inside Sales Team, and manages the EMEA Amazon Coordinators—ensuring operational excellence, strong channel execution, and a unified go‑to‑market approach across multiple regions.

As EMEA DRAM Business Manager, Iwona drives the strategic direction of Kingston’s DRAM business, developing high‑impact sales initiatives and promotional programmes that fuel regional growth. She works closely with her team to identify market opportunities and provides Kingston HQ with critical intelligence on DRAM trends, pricing, and product strategy.

Before stepping into her current dual leadership role, Iwona excelled as Sales Manager, where she empowered her Sales Account Managers to outperform targets through clear strategy, coaching, and performance‑driven planning.

Her earlier experience includes serving as a Sales Account Manager at Stock and Asset Management, Ltd, supporting SMB customers across the EE region.

Fluent in both English and Polish, Iwona brings energy and discipline to everything she does. Outside of work, she enjoys running, dancing, and never misses a chance to fit in a strength training session.

Jenny Latimer is Operations Director at Highgate, a 100% remote ‘work anywhere’ organisation. Jenny has over 10 years experience in the IT Channel, having worked at two other resellers, before joining Highgate in 2021. Jenny's proudest moment at Highgate was when they won the 'Best Place to Work' in the CRN Women & Diversity in Channel Awards 2025. Jenny is also proud to be a channel buddy for The Channel Community, a mentoring initiative in the channel, helping others with their career journeys.

John is a seasoned technology executive with over 20 years of experience in building and growing businesses. He has a proven track record of success in the private equity, technology, and manufacturing sectors.

In his previous role, John was the CEO of a private equity-backed UK technology company. He led the company through a period of rapid growth, increasing sales by 200% in three years.

Prior to that, John was the Vice President of Sales for a $1 billion American technology company in Europe.He was responsible for leading a team of 100 sales professionals and generating over $500 million in annual revenue.

John is also a regular member of the CRN Awards judging team. He is always impressed by the innovation evident in many of the shortlisted companies.

Today, John is a coach and mentor to senior leadership teams who want to improve the commercial performance of their businesses. He is passionate about helping businesses achieve their goals and helping people reach their full potential.

Jon Atherton is a highly respected leader within the UK technology channel, bringing over 30 years of experience in distribution, commercial strategy and partner development. Renowned for his deep channel insight and ability to drive sustainable growth, Jon has played a pivotal role in shaping some of the industry’s most successful distribution businesses.

As Sales & Marketing Director at Ci Distribution, Jon has helped position the company as one of Europe’s largest specialist distributors in Client, Rugged and Gaming technologies. His strategic vision, strong supplier relationships and customer-first approach have been central to the company’s continued expansion and market leadership.

Before his tenure at Ci Distribution, Jon was a key figure at Exertis and Entatech, where his hard work and vision helped establish it as one of the UK’s fastest-growing technology distributors.

Beyond his commercial achievements, Jon is a long-standing and influential figure in the industry and has served as a judge for both the CRN and PCR Awards whilst also being recognised as a CRN Top 100 Executive for over a decade. His individual accolades include the PCR Individual Award, the Network Group Chairman’s Award and Synaxon Personality of the Year. He has also previously served as Director of the Professional Computer Association (PCA) and Games Aid, demonstrating his commitment to supporting and giving back to the wider technology community.

Jon remains an active voice within the channel, regularly engaging at industry events and LinkedIn, continuing to shape the conversation around technology and distribution.

Outside of work, Jon is a devoted supporter of West Bromwich Albion and an avid golfer, embracing both sports with the same passion and energy he brings to his professional life.

Lisa Roberts is a partnerships business leader focused on driving growth through high impact partner ecosystems across the technology industry. She currently leads the Northern Europe partner organisation at SentinelOne, where she is responsible for scaling partner-led revenue, strengthening strategic alliances, and aligning the ecosystem to support the company’s expanding cybersecurity and AI platform.

Prior to joining SentinelOne, Lisa held senior leadership roles at Cisco, Cisco Meraki, and Rubrik, where she built and led high-performing teams and developed partner strategies that accelerated market expansion across EMEA.

Known for her ability to translate ecosystem strategy into measurable business outcomes, Lisa is passionate about developing talent, building high-performing teams, and championing the role of partnerships as a critical driver of growth in the technology industry.

Founder & CEO at Channel Edge, a premium channel engagement partner, in 2019 following years of extensive, award-winning success in the IT channel.

Additionally, joined Rejoose as CCO in 2023 to bring ground-breaking carbon emissions data and reporting to the global IT channel.

Lives in Hampshire with his fiancée, Sarah, their daughter, Daisy, and Bruce… the dog! Older kids Paige, Ty and Jake, fitness, golf, rugby, music and travel keep him motivated.

Mukesh Gupta co-founded e92plus in 1989, and continues to lead the organisation as Chief Executive. e92plus is a cybersecurity specialist, and Mukesh has played a pivotal role in driving the launch of new products and technologies via e92plus to the UK channel over the past 35 years, most noticeably accelerating start-up vendors and growing the partner community and revenues for established brands. e92plus have established themselves as one of the most respected and innovative value-added distributors in the channel while remaining one of the last independent VADs, introducing new services and initiatives to help drive their customers’ business and provide extensive sales, marketing and technical support. e92plus have enjoyed significant growth of over 500% in the past 9 years with record turnover figures, with the company winning multiple channel, vendor and partner awards. Mukesh has a BSc Honours in Mathematics, Statistics and Economics.

Neil Sawyer is Senior Vice President of Hewlett Packard inc. (HP inc.). His focus spans across Northern Europe. He is responsible for the statutory, sales, financial, and operational functions for over 20 countries covering HP’s technology portfolio, services, and solutions for consumers and business.

Neil has more than 25 years of channel and client management experience in the technology industry, with a broad range of experience across corporate, public infrastructure, and home/consumer electronics.

Nima Sherpa Green is a British/Sherpa broadcast journalist and editor. She has a multimedia background in newsrooms around the world. Currently the EMEA Editorial Director at The Channel Company, she was the UK Editor of CRN and Editor of its European sister publication Channel Partner Insight.

As the editorial founder of the Women in Channel series in 2018, she is passionate about championing diverse views and insights within the industry. She has an MA in Journalism from Monash University, Melbourne and a BA in Political History of Southern Africa from the University of Sheffield.

Since 2011, Paul Briggs has served as CEO and Principal Consultant of Media Mantra Ltd. He has previously worked with leading publishers such as Incisive Media, Ziff Davis, CMP, Reed Elsevier (now part of RELX), and IDG, as well as marketing technology companies including Madison Logic.

With deep expertise across digital, outbound calling, and in-person event-based demand generation and account-based marketing (ABM), Paul has successfully built high-performing EMEA and APAC teams to meet clients' demand generation requirements. He has also cultivated extensive networks of partners to deliver high-quality prospects into these channels.

As a former editor of CRN and publisher of IT-focused B2B and B2C titles, Paul is a strong advocate for high-quality, relevant content as a core driver of prospect engagement in lead generation. He emphasizes that in today's marketing landscape, content's primary role has evolved from simply driving traffic to capturing valuable user data and insights.

Additionally, with extensive experience in designing and building websites optimized for content distribution and lead capture, Paul champions the use of high-quality, compliant data alongside advanced technologies that enable effective persuasion architectures and conversion-focused user experiences.

As SVP of Marketplace and Channel Expansion for EMEA, Phylip drives the international expansion of Pax8 in the EMEA region, constantly pushing boundaries to open in new markets. He also develops, plans, and executes strategic initiatives that drive the company’s channel growth and exposure globally. Through Phylip’s efforts leading the EMEA Centre of Excellence, Pax8 continues to drive digital transformation worldwide.

Phylip has spent over 30 years helping various technology companies expand globally and achieve significant success. He has led several companies as Chairman and Director and founded nine of his own, empowering organizations to become operationally efficient and effective through technology. Phylip holds an M.A. in Missional Leadership from Bangor University, is the Pastor and Co-Founder of Calon Church, and sits on the board for several companies and non-profits. He enjoys working with small business owners and spending time with his wife and three daughters.

Cofounder and Chief Executive Officer of CapametriX, Sandrijn has been the driving force behind the company’s growth and global expansion.

Prior to founding CapametriX, Sandrijn ran global sales and marketing for both Virtual Computer and Reflex Security as EVP. He also held senior positions in EMEA at companies including ProofPoint, CipherTrust and Netscreen covering Channel, Direct Sales and OEM business units. Sandrijn brings a wealth of Sales and Marketing experience from his career working with channel partners of all shapes and sizes from every corner of the planet.

He also extends his business experience with years of working in other industries with a number of charitable positions, board seats and supporting roles in retail, education, local government and creative markets.

I am deeply passionate about the transformative power of technology in reshaping business operations and enhancing individual experiences. Focused on delivering measurable results and optimizing performance, I consistently exceed the expectations of clients, partners, and employers. Entrusted with building long-lasting relationships with key clients and partners, I act as a trusted advisor, using my deep understanding of their business goals and challenges to guide them in achieving strategic objectives through IBM's innovative Hybrid Cloud and AI solutions.

My approach is grounded in three core values: unwavering integrity, a commitment to kindness and inclusivity in all my interactions.

Simon Meredith has been writing about IT and business for more than 30 years. He worked on the launch of PC Dealer in 1986 and later helped establish CRN as the leading channel business title in the UK. Simon lives in Shrewsbury, has three grown-up children and is a keen runner.

Sonya Mathieu is a transformative technology leader known for combining strategic vision with courageous, people centred leadership.

As Senior Director for Partners at NetApp UK & Ireland, she plays a key role in accelerating NetApp’s growth as a hybrid cloud leader across the region. With deep expertise in multi cloud, hybrid cloud storage, and cloud data services, Sonya brings a strong track record of driving change, including senior leadership roles at Dell Technologies UK & Ireland, where she led Data Protection and Cyber Resilience.

Inspired by Brené Brown’s leadership principles, Sonya leads with authenticity and empathy while embracing a challenger mindset—constructively pushing teams and partners to think differently and deliver greater impact. She is a passionate advocate for advancing women in leadership and championing active fatherhood, believing inclusive, flexible workplaces are essential to sustainable success.

Tony is an IT operations guru. As an ex-IT manager with an insatiable thirst for knowledge, his extensive vendor briefing agenda makes him one of the most well-informed analysts in the industry, particularly on the diversity of solutions and approaches available to tackle key operational requirements. If you are a vendor talking about a new offering, be very careful about describing it to Tony as ‘unique’, because if it isn’t, he’ll probably know.

To keep everything balanced and grounded, Tony is intimately involved in Freeform Dynamics’ Community Research Programme, through which he stays in close touch with how needs are evolving within the IT and business community around IT service delivery. This includes all aspects of systems infrastructure and management, from desktop, through servers, storage and network, to mainframe, with particular attention paid to alternative delivery models – cloud computing, managed services, IT financing, etc.

From an advisory perspective, Tony’s comprehensive knowledge of the solution and best practice landscape makes him ideal for those who want help in understanding their options rather than having a canned set of recommendations thrust at them. His focus on core principles and his forthright but open-minded views on technology also make Tony one of the most sought-after speakers in the industry for keynotes, roundtables, webinars, and so on.

Tony has a strong IT practitioner background, having held IT management positions at companies such as BP and BT, and has also worked on the vendor side of the equation at Amdahl. He became an industry analyst in 2000, has been with Freeform Dynamics since 2007, and is currently based in Germany, but also spends significant time in London and other locations around the world.