Kingston’s Ann Keefe: ‘I will miss the people in the channel the most’

After a 30-year career at Kingston Technology and over four decades in the IT industry, Keefe is taking well-earned retirement. CRN caught up with her to chat about her career and what she will be up to next

There was a time when senior-level women in the UK channel were quite a rare sight, but one person who has bucked the trend over the years is Kingston Technology’s UK and Ireland regional director Ann Keefe, who worked at Datrontech, AST Europe and Compaq in her 40-year career, before joining Kingston Technology in 1995 and spearheading its channel drive ever since.

“I have to say that I never felt singled-out or different as a woman in a male-heavy industry, and I always just got on with it,” Keefe says.

“When I started at Compaq in 1989, Joe McNally was the UK country manager and he was heavily praised for his forward thinking in the 80s and 90s – he always employed a very diverse workforce with women, young people – a great mix.

“So, for me it was just the norm, and I always felt very equal. I had a lot of female role models to look up to.

“Then when I joined Kingston in 1995 it was very much the same. When I look around the company now there is a great mix of people – women and men of all ages, just how it should be,” she says.

“But I know it doesn’t mean that has been the experience for everybody else, I have been lucky with the companies I have worked for.”

Keefe’s replacement is also a woman – Iwona Zalewska, who was previously DRAM business manager and inside sales manager for UK &I, and who has been with Kingston Technology for 14 years.

She adds that while the industry has been male-heavy, change will happen.

“There are still a lot of men at the top level, but I think it is a generational thing – in the 80s/90s – men just got the more senior jobs most of the time, but as that generation retires it will likely change, as long as it is always on merit.”

When asked what her highlights over the years were, Keefe says it was the people and the dynamism of the channel.

“I have been fortunate to have such a great job and to meet so many interesting people over the years, many of whom have become good friends,” she explains.

“That has been one of the main benefits of longevity in my career – the channel has liked the consistency.

“But also, our sector is so interesting, so dynamic, and there is new technology coming out all the time. We also get to travel to a lot of places that you wouldn’t necessarily go to both in the UK and further afield.

“It has certainly changed over the years – everything has become a lot more efficient.

“I dug out some old memorabilia recently, and one of the competitions we ran asked people to fax their entries back, and our orders also used to come through via fax – you couldn’t even comprehend it now!

“Luckily everything is electronic, and AI is making everything even more efficient. Also, the advent of online meetings has made life a lot easier, not everyone wants to meet in person all the time,” Keefe adds.

Most people who have worked in the channel a long time, would often hear the phrase “The channel will be dead in 10 years”, but Keefe says it will continue to defy those predictions.

“The channel is still thriving which is great,” she says.

“Yes, last year was tough for a lot of people, but it is always going to survive, and we as an industry have had many ups and downs.

“Our customer base has certainly changed over the years; we used to work with the big corporate resellers when I started out, but a lot of them have been acquired or disappeared, and now we are seeing a lot more independent SIs building gaming machines and servers, and are now working with e-tailers.

“It is constantly developing and changing which makes it such an exciting place to be.”

So, what is Keefe planning to do with all her free time, once she has handed the reins fully to her successor?

“I have bought a camper van and I plan to travel round the UK visiting lots of different places,” she says.

“I am just going to enjoy having free time because I have always worked. I am really going to miss all the people, but I will be staying in touch with so many of them anyway.”

Finally, when asked what advice she would give a young person starting out in the channel, Keefe said they should embrace the opportunities.

“This is such a great industry with so many opportunities. It is constantly changing and is so dymanic. Come into it with your eyes wide open, work hard and be consistent and you can achieve anything.

“But most of all, remember to have fun.”