Five Minute Interview: Simon Worsfold, Fujitsu

Tell us what you do for a living.

I run the channel sales team for Fujitsu in the UK and Ireland.  Basically that means running the team and working with distributors and reseller partners on winning business. We have about 60 people in all. It’s a great team and there is such a positive vibe about our business right now. It’s great to be a part of that.

Why are you the right person for this job?

Probably because I like the sound of my own voice! More seriously, I am genuinely passionate about our business and the way we do business – and I want to get the best results for the customer and the partner as well as Fujitsu.

What gets you up in the morning?

Really, the spirit we have here. It is a really great place to work and we are doing some great things – not just for the business but for customers who need really good, reliable systems from a business that cares. I’m exceptionally proud of the genuine and responsible approach that Fujitsu takes to doing business and the solutions we’ve helped to provide for schools and healthcare especially.

Who helped you get to where you are today?

Helping each other is part of the Fujitsu culture – so I could name many people across the whole organisation.

What is the best or worst business advice you have received and from whom?

Understand your competitors and customers as well as you understand yourself. That was from my Sales Director many years ago at Planning Consultancy

What advice would you give to someone starting out today in IT?

Go for it, excusing the pun.  This market is exciting, dynamic, ever changing and full of opportunity.

What’s running on your smartphone?

Boringly, just conventional business apps. The daily and weekly indicators I get on our KPIs are the thing I look out for most of all.  However I do keep a watchful eye on Chelsea FC.

What does the next five years hold for the channel?

There are also some exciting opportunities emerging as businesses start to become more dynamic and fluid in their structures and working practices. Resellers have always had to adapt quickly – they’ll have to move even faster in the future.    

Tell us something most people do not know about you.

I love learning about new technology – there’s some truly mind blowing stuff going on all over the world.

What goal do you have to achieve before you die, and why?

Simply to be respected by everyone who knew me or did business with me.

What is the best book you've ever read?

Best book recently was The Wisdom of Psychopaths – Kevin Dutton

And the worst film you’ve ever seen?

The Abba film, Mamma Mia, did not do it for me.

What would be your Desert Island MP3s?

If there was one song, I’d take Bennie and the Jets by Elton John. It’s just such an uplifting tune and would bring back some great memories.

What temptation can you not resist?

Red wine and Cheese.

What was your first car and how does it compare with what you drive now?

It was a bright red 1.3 litre Ford Escort GL – it doesn’t compare to what I drive now, but was a damned sight cheaper to run.

If you could be any animal for a day, what would you be and why?

I’d like to be a fly and spend some time on one or two walls.

If you could take part in one event at the Olympics, which would you choose and why?

The high jump, there is a really funny story behind it, I publicly recalled a vivid dream where I was participating in the high jump competition, big pressure moment, chanting crowds, staring at the bar, personal coaching from an old mate, we laughed for hours when I told the group about the height I had cleared...a little over 1m.  

If you were facing awesome peril and impossible odds, which real or fictional person would you most want on your side and why?

Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman, you need to ask why?

And finally, a grizzly bear and a silverback gorilla are getting ready for a no-holds-barred rumble. Who is your money on and why?

My money would be on the Grizzly, big, strong and aggressive.