01732 759725 20 PC: COVID and the ‘paperless office’ combined. Many businesses have been working on strategies to reduce physical printed pages for a long time. When COVID struck, it closed down offices and accelerated the use of Teams and other tools. Business printing has never fully recovered. Anyone involved in document management really needs to start exploring other ways of delivering customer value in order to stay relevant. Net zero and ESG are booming categories and certainly worthy of investigation. PITR: If you could change one thing about the last decade, what would it be? PC: Honestly speaking I would have liked to slow down the pace at which online has accelerated at the cost of local ‘bricks and mortar’ businesses. Don’t get me wrong, the online world offers incredible value and convenience especially with the emergence of Uber‑type business models allowing almost immediate delivery of pretty much anything. At the same time though, I think we might be losing the opportunity to buy, work and think locally, which has value in terms of supporting and strengthening communities. It might not seem important now, but once it’s gone it’s going to be difficult to get it back. PITR: What has been your proudest moment of the past 10 years? PC: I don’t think there is any one thing. Becoming almost a full-time digital nomad for a couple of years and managing to work whilst following the sun was nice for sure! I think within the print market I would say though that seeing the continued success at Brother and many individuals who have remained loyal and focused do so well makes me happy. I’m also very proud to say that I have retained and been able to enjoy so many varied relationships with people in the channel, including customers, partners and colleagues. PITR: Sum up the decade in three words. PC: Frustrating. Challenging. Enlightening. opened up the opportunity for me to get into the print market based on the things I learned in the retail market. PITR: What was your first job? PC: I was initially employed as a Retail Account Manager, tasked with building the inkjet business in places like Staples, Office World, Tempo and Comet (all no longer here), and some other players who are still around! That didn’t last long, not once I was introduced to IT distribution! I loved that whole business model and IT and the people in it seemed to respond well to me! I was fortunate to be allowed the elbow room to put my energy into building the inkjet business in that channel and things went rather well. PITR: What has been the high point of the decade? PC: I look back fondly at the time I spent at Brother UK as General Manager. I was fortunate to find myself amongst a group of open-minded and supportive people who were willing to overlook my weaknesses just enough to allow me to do the things I enjoyed and which made a positive contribution to the business. If I had my time over, I might have approached some things and some people differently, but I am incredibly proud still of the results we achieved and what some of my colleagues there have gone on to achieve in their own careers. PITR: And the low point? PC: I spent almost six years trying to turn around a print-focused business which in a variety of ways had lost its mojo. There were many good and dedicated people and a brand which carried good value, but for a variety of reasons, the planets just couldn’t be brought into alignment and ultimately the project failed. Everyone did their best in their own way and whilst it was a personal and financial low point, a lot of good lessons have been learned. PITR: What (or who) has had the greatest impact in the sector in the last 10 years? PrintIT Reseller (PITR): You’ve been working in the print and IT industry for more than ten years. What led you to enter the sector? Paul Callow (PC): I entered the print market in 2000. It was a long time ago but, in some ways, only feels like yesterday. I started my career in consumer goods, working for brands like Haagen-Dazs and L’Oreal and whilst that was exciting, I wanted to get into IT as it has been such a booming sector in the 80s and 90s. Lexmark at the time had a consumer print division and that Paul Callow, Head of Strategic Partner Acquisition, Fidelity Energy shares his experiences over the past decade, what he’s learned, and the highs and the lows of our unique and challenging industry A decade in print INTERVIEW Paul Callow
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