Richard Blanford

CEO, Fordway

What has been your business highlight of 2022?

Successfully re-engineering Fordway to become a public cloud managed service provider from our previous private cloud focus, while maintaining customer service levels and profitability. We closed our last datacentre at the end of this year, the final client is in the process of being migrated to Azure and we have completely refreshed and redefined our service catalogue for Azure and M365, as well as moving offices. A massive well done and thank you to Fordway's staff and management team to achieve this, it's been a pretty intense year#.

If you were ruler of your own country, what law would you introduce first?

Treat everyone you meet with respect and listen to what they have to say.

Which channel or tech leader (outside of your own company) has impressed you most in 2022?

It's a bit of a cliché but I continue to be impressed with the transformation of Microsoft that Satya Nadella is leading. I am not 100 per cent sure about its new partner programme but we're working on it.

If you had a warning label, what would it say?

"Tells it like he sees it and can express strong opinions."

What was your first job?

My first full-time job after leaving school at 17 I was a management trainee for a family-run sand and gravel extraction, waste disposal and ready-mix concrete supplier in the Thames Valley. Reality meant dogsbody but I did learn how to drive a dragline, excavators and off-road dump trucks, weld and service heavy plant and later gain an HGV licence, all of which have been extremely useful for my IT career!

What was the last book you read, and was it any good?

I recently reread The Speed of Trust by Stephen Covey, which I had read some years ago. It is an excellent reminder of how critical trust is to speed business processes and increase profitability, and also how lacking it is in most business dealings. I'd also recommend Traction by Gino Wickman if you're looking for a simple and effective business model for running a mid-sized business.

What's the most important lesson you've learned from another business leader or mentor?

About 15 years ago a fellow business owner pointed out to me the importance of winning and delivering contractually recurring revenue. At that time Fordway had very little. We rebuilt our business to focus on it; it's been my guiding principle driving Fordway's growth and success ever since.

Who would play you in a movie of your life?

I've been told I look a bit like an older and fatter Ryan Reynolds. As I really enjoyed the Deadpool movies I'd be happy with that.