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After being nominated for our Q&A last month, VIP Computers’ director Rich Marsden reveals how he once ended up in the Thames, and why his unbeaten FIFA status is so important.
How competitive are you (inside and outside of work)? How important is this to you working in tech?
I am a very competitive person. I think you have to be to survive in this industry for any period of time. Inside work I am currently unbeaten on FIFA in the office, and will fight tooth and nail to extend my unbeaten run into a fourth year.
What’s one of the most embarrassing or funniest memories you can remember from the
tech industry?
After years of trying at Realtime we finally won the then coveted ATI Distributor of the year award. Due to the inexplicable amount of drink plied upon us, both the award and our then sales director ended up in the Thames. Highly amusing now, but it was a tough Monday morning back at the office.
What’s the strangest thing you have cooked or eaten?
I don’t generally cook, as my wife prefers meals that are edible. I was once tricked into eating Octopus – generally I eat fairly safe.
What are your tipples of choice (inside and outside of work)? Would you rather a pint of beer or a tumbler of whiskey?
Outside of work I am a typical northerner and like a pint of bitter, later on after a few it’s gin and tonic. In work I am a coffee man.
What was your fist job before you started out in the tech industry?
I worked as a temp for an agency when I left school and they sent me to a mushroom farm to handpick mushrooms. Safe to say it gave me the motivation to get my career moving.
What’s your dream car?
I don’t have a dream car. Cars don’t really motivate me.
AMD’s EMEA senior sales manager Neil Spicer nominated you last month. What’s it been like working with him in the industry?
I have known Neil for over 15 years through his work with ATI, Sapphire and AMD.
He is a good guy to work with and very easy to get on with. Over the years we have developed a very good relationship, he is one of the few people I will go out and have a beer with in the industry, so he must be doing something right!
Would you like to nominate anyone for the next ‘In the hot seat’?
A man I have known even longer than Neil. I worked with him at Realtime and have had a successful relationship with him at Razer – Darren Roberts.
