Zoe: Tell me how you got into IT?
Mark: Whilst I was at school I completed my work experience at HP and enjoyed it so much that I knew that was the company I wanted to work for. My first role at HP was in sales order management and I’ve spent the past 30 years in IT sales. I love the fast pace, interesting work and getting the chance to work with customers and partners.
Zoe: How did you work your way up to where you are now?
Mark: The simple answer is I worked for great people who helped me progress my career. As I’ve developed I’ve had the opportunity to replicate this approach by hiring great people who working together as a team, have enabled us to be successful in every team I’ve been part of. I like to think I’ve been able to make progress in the roles and functions that I've led. All those opportunities and experiences from my early career days at HP through to Morse, then Symantec and now Veritas have brought me to where I am today.
Zoe: What has been your career highlight?
Mark: It’s my current role! Running the EMEA region at Veritas and working with the team as we moved towards becoming a growth business. In my first year working with the teams we closed two of the largest deals we’ve ever done and then this year we received the award for the best performing geography globally in recognition of the progress that we’ve made and significantly improving the quality of our earnings.
Zoe: Why do you work for Veritas?
Mark: I really believe in what we do at Veritas, data and information is key to any company’s success and we lead the market when it comes to protection and management. I also think at Veritas individuals can make a difference in a way that is often difficult at other companies. I want to make a difference, as a leader and as a person. Add to that the people and the culture that we have and I believe it’s a great place to work.
Zoe: What do you enjoy most about your role at Veritas?
Mark: EMEA is a hugely diverse geographical area and having the opportunity to meet with customers and partners across the region and really listen to their requirements and experiences is an absolute privilege. In the past 18 months, I’ve had the opportunity to visit so many places to support the in-country teams. Being able to visit teams in those countries, experience their culture and meet customers and partners really drives me, it’s an incredibly enjoyable part of my role. I thrive on being part of a team delivering real value for customers and am proud of the way we are doing that in Veritas across EMEA.
Zoe: What would you say your management style is?
Mark: Direct! I’d like to think my management style is about keeping things simple, focussing on the critical issues, being very clear in terms of what’s important and holding myself and the team accountable on delivering results.
Zoe: What would you suggest makes a good leader?
Mark: To be a good leader you must genuinely believe you can learn from everyone whether they work for you, whether they work with you or whether you’re working for them as a customer. The best leaders that I’ve worked with have applied this technique and it’s helped them deliver success.
Mark: When I first started work I had the privilege of working at HP where the company was led by two great leaders and participating in the culture that they created has had a lasting influence on me. One of the things that I really admired about the HP leadership was how they created the “HP way” which was really defining the culture, the values of HP and giving some guidance around how they wanted their employees to operate.
I had the opportunity to meet Richard Branson last year who is a real inspiration as an entrepreneur and has a willingness to take risks and compete. That’s very inspiring to me.
Zoe: How do you motivate your team?
Mark: It’s important to establish clear goals and targets and to be honest and objective in terms of progress against them; no one ever jumped higher because someone else lowered the bar. If you set the right goals then you can stretch the team and they will demonstrate to themselves that they’re capable of achieving far more than they ever thought they were themselves. That’s certainly been the case at Veritas collectively for the teams that I’m responsible for leading. We go back to last year and everything we achieved this year, I think that for the vast majority of people we achieved far more than we would have thought we could have at the start.
Zoe: How do you define success?
Mark: It’s achieving the goal. For me, the definition of success is having a vision, building a plan, executing on that plan by pulling a great team of people together recognising their talent and then enabling them to be successful. When others in the organisation are bought into the vision and are talking about it as passionately as you are, that’s success!
Zoe: How do you achieve a work life balance?
Mark: It’s definitely a challenge! I do try hard not to be attached to my phone at the weekend and really treasure that family time and I’m very clear with my team they should do the same unless it’s very exceptional circumstances. That said, for me personally, I genuinely enjoy what I do so there’s no distinct line between work and life; because I love what I do, I get the balance that I’m looking for. I’m fortunate enough to have been in an industry and to have had jobs that I genuinely enjoy and therefore I felt very happy both at work and in my personal life.
Mark: I think there are great opportunities at Veritas and particularly within EMEA. We are the market leaders in data protection and our purpose has never been clearer. If people are looking for a new challenge and are willing to learn, they can genuinely be very, very, successful here as part of this driven and supportive team. There’s never been a better time to join Veritas here in EMEA - we are the number one geography in the world and we are going from strength to strength.
That was an amazingly honest interview from Mark, I particularly liked what he said about learning is a top trait for a great leader, fantastic advice. Taking time for continued learning is essential and is sometimes often overlooked in this fast-paced world, I'll definitely be investing more time to learn and develop from others, thanks Mark for your leadership insights.
So, if you enjoyed this interview as much as I did and you’re interested in joining our EMEA team, then check out our latest job vacancies and apply today. Finally, watch out for more #LifeAtVeritas blogs and podcasts coming soon!
