Anthony McMenzie - Commercial Director, Forfusion
Did you always envisage a career in technology?
No, though, at High School, I was lucky enough to have an inspirational electronics and computing teacher, and his influence gave me something to attach myself to. And whilst my focus has shifted from technical and consulting to commercial over the years, it’s the only thing I could’ve ever seen myself doing after that point. The fact that I still remember the model numbers of the first computers at school, I suppose, is a testament to some natural affiliation with IT.
What attracted you to your current role?
We’re pretty unique, a medium-sized business headquartered in the North East playing in the large client infrastructure space, mixing with, and often winning against the big players and global integrators. To be able to do this in the region I grew up in makes it all the more rewarding.
Tell us about the business.
At Forfusion we design, deploy and manage enterprise grade IT infrastructure across private and public sectors in the UK and beyond. We’re focused predominantly on larger engagements and clients, something that sets us apart in our region. We’ve recently become the first Cisco Gold Partner in the North East, which has already started to open up new opportunities. We’ve also achieved ISO 27001 across the entire business, with “no opportunities for improvement” identified by the external auditors. And whilst it’s hard to say there’s anything unique in our industry, our meticulous ADIOlogy® methodology underpins the great people we’ve had the good fortune to attract to join our team.
What tips would you give someone starting a career in the IT industry?
Do your research early. Options such as the brilliant North East Futures UTC offer an early-stage IT focused education alongside traditional learning. We’ve got some fantastic HE colleges and incredible universities in the region; any of them would be a good choice. And don’t just think that the IT industry is about coding; for every person coding, there’ll be at least ten others in roles such as analysis, design, UX, testing, infrastructure, security, data centre, project management, operations, support and management.
What are you currently working on?
Many things, I’m always busy, something I think is true of everyone I come across. I try with varying degrees of success to keep away from too much day-to-day, and instead shape things that can help us achieve strategic aims. Growth is key to us at the moment, engaging with and onboarding the right types of clients where we can add lots of value. We’re focusing a lot on our recurring revenue portfolio and have made great strides in our aim to be the go-to company for enterprise IoT, a market that presents a vast opportunity over the coming years.
What is your fondest career memory?
I was fortunate enough to live and work in Australia for several years. And whilst it wasn’t all beer and BBQs at work, they were so different in how they approached work compared to my previous roles. Organisations were flatter, more open and more values-driven than anything I’d seen before. Even back then, employees were trusted to deliver against outcomes rather than just hours of work, the kind of thing that is becoming more common here in white collar environments. Overall, I learned a lot of great things about work culture there that has shaped me forever.
Who are your heroes and mentors?
At the risk of upsetting my current colleagues, I’d have to say a wonderful boss of mine from my working stint in Australia, Karen James. Her inspiration took me from technical to commercial without me really knowing what that meant at the time, seeing something in me that I couldn’t myself and shaping the last twenty years of my life. Karen was an incredible leader, a visionary that didn’t mind getting down in the weeds when required, she inspired trust and loyalty in abundance, and I’d argue is the finest individual ever to come out of New York.
What does the future hold?
For Forfusion, we hope to go from strength to strength and leverage our reputation to bring in more great customers and help them do great things. For me personally, seeing my beloved Newcastle United win something, anything, looks like it may just be a possibility. How times change when you get leadership and strategy right.