A DAY IN THE LIFE
GET TO KNOW...
On the lighter side of things, we ask the industry-
experts what makes them tick…
John Hathaway,
Regional Sales Director,
BeyondTrust
What would you describe as your
most memorable achievement?
In a previous role, with a well-established systems integrator,
I was tasked with solving the problem of eroding hardware
margins. Leveraging my industry experience and strong
relationships with vendors and customers, I built a security
practice within the organisation from the ground-up. Within
just a few months of running at full pace, we built a $5m
pipeline and closed over $1m within the first quarter, created
a profitable professional service practice and reinvigorated
account relationships across the region that had lay dormant
for many years.
What made you think of a career
in technology?
I was working in a totally unrelated industry at the start of
my career, but wasn’t very happy with the direction I was
heading in. After doing my due diligence and evaluating other
opportunities, it was obvious that technology was a much
better bet – not only was it a rapidly growing industry but I
was also able to leverage some of my prior experience. The
early years in technology were a bit bumpy but I eventually
landed a role with Oracle and haven’t looked back since!
What style of management
philosophy do you employ with
your current position?
Particularly for someone in sales that is responsible for
targets, I believe that setting accurate expectations and
communicating these expectations, and your broader
vision, clearly with both your reports and your managers, is
absolutely crucial to success. In parallel, it is important to
empower your team and to this end, I firmly believe that
the team you’re managing should own the strategy for their
targets as it helps foster respect, trust and buy-in.
www.intelligentcio.com
What do you think is the current
hot technology talking point?
Cyber security has been and will continue to be a hot issue in
the region, although in my view, we are seeing a small shift
from the focus on network security to information security.
Given the spate of high profile malware attacks, companies
now understand that a simple firewall or IPS solution isn’t
going to help them stay one step ahead of the attackers.
CIOs are beginning to focus on layered, complicated and
challenging approaches to implement security solutions.
As such, first generation buyers are budgeting for data loss
prevention, encryption, data classification and privileged access
management solutions and this trend isn’t slowing down.
How do you deal with stress and
unwind outside the office?
My life doesn’t slow down outside of work as I’m a proud
father to two small girls! Weekends are all about spending
time with the family in a world of Pepper Pig and soft play
areas. Socialising is typically with friends who are also parents
which means those family friendly brunches is where you’ll
find me. When I get a moment to myself, I can be found
watching soccer or cricket, reading or indulging in my passion
for cooking and perfecting my favourite dish.
If you could go back and change a
career decision, what would it be?
If I could do it all over again, I would have probably made the
jump to security sooner. That being said, I believe there is a
time and a place for everything. I’ve been lucky with all the
decisions I’ve made in my career; every job has helped me
hone new skills, given me experiences and allowed me to build
and foster relationships that have added value to my career
and better prepared me for my next role. n
INTELLIGENTCIO
99