Managing the team...
As Practice Manager for EMEA, I was responsible for all the technical staff working in the CA (then Computer Associates) storage practice throughout Europe, running a team of thirty pre-sales consultants spread from Turkey to Scandinavia, with occasional forays into the Middle East. In addition, I was the European representative on the Product Development Board, and travelled to the USA every 6 weeks to sit on the Development Board meetings, which usually lasted 2 days.
The role of the pre-sales team was to assist the Sales team with demonstrations and presentations, and act as technical authorities to ensure the client architecture and design was in accordance with recommended best practice, before implementation began.
As well as managing this team, I was responsible for ongoing technical training programs, and ensuring the adoption and roll-out of best practices and procedures in line with emerging ITIL standards. As part of this process I mentored the entire team through qualification and certification by the SNIA (Storage Networking Industry Association), and I served for some time as the Chairman of the SNIA in the UK.
On top of the effort required to fill this dual role I was also asked to represent both CA and the SNIA at a number of international events either in the capacity of presenter or spokesperson. As a consequence, I have delivered presentations in almost every country in Europe, in the USA and in the Middle East, to audiences ranging in size from a boardroom with ten people, up to a hall containing several hundred.