We’re especially excited today to welcome Ant to the team, as he joins us to lead our Managed Services. Like most of our recent new starters, Ant comes with a highly sought after background of experience, with past employers such as Softcat, Cognizant and Amazon Web Services.

Here’s what Ant had to say when we sat down with him for our Q & A session.

Welcome Ant to the Firemind team! It’s great to have you with us. For our viewers, could you please tell us a little about yourself and your professional background?

Thanks, and it’s great to be here! I’ve been working in the IT field for the past 30+ years, starting in desk-side support, servers and networking, before setting up a business in the nineties providing 24×7 services and support to doctors on call and the NHS. The last 8 years have been cloudier, working at some large global system integrators, a reseller as a cloud architecture lead, and Amazon Web Services (AWS) as a Partner Solutions Architect.

How did you find out about us and what made you decide to apply for a role with Firemind?

I first found out about Firemind whilst I was working at AWS. There was a lot of excitement about Firemind’s depth of knowledge and ability to execute modernisation, data, machine learning and artificial intelligence projects.

When I heard that there was an opportunity to join the team I jumped at it.

What is your role at Firemind?

I look after our Managed Services offerings, as well as value add integrations with AWS programs such as the Well Architected Partner Program.

Which areas of our business interested you the most?

Using Generative AI with customers’ own data is very exciting and seeing how Firemind are differentiating and building tangible outcomes for customers in this space.

What will be your main goals/objectives whilst working at Firemind?

I’m going to be further developing our managed services capability and cementing us as trusted advisor to our customers not only for delivering value, but ongoing service management, as well as a top tier AWS Well-Architected partner.

Which aspects of your role are you most excited about?

I’m excited to build on the momentum that Firemind already has with Managed Services, enabling customers to gain business advantage by utilising their data using modern and exciting technologies such as Generative AI and machine learning, and then keeping those technologies running securely, smoothly and effectively.

What do you hope to achieve within your first 12 months here?

I want to learn loads and launch a managed services proposition that’s compelling for our customers. As a personal goal I also want to try and hold all the AWS certifications, right now I’ve got 3 to go (Advanced Networking, SAP and the new Data engineer associate).

Outside of work, what do you get up to? Tell us about your hobbies.

I enjoy live music, food, cars and travelling.

What’s your favourite song on your playlist right now?

Difficult to call out an absolute favourite, but I’m enjoying Gumshield by Don Broco.

Any fun nicknames we should know about? If Yes, what’s the backstory?

I have a nickname from back when I was in the fire service, but I’m not sharing it, maybe ask me after a few beers! 🤣

If you could only choose one dish to eat every meal for the rest of your life, what would it be?

I love curry so probably Chicken, mushroom and vegetable Balti, or a Jalfrezi.

What is at the top of your bucket list?

To go and see the great wall of China, and perhaps run another London marathon.

What is one skill you would really love to learn?

I’d like to learn to play an instrument, I’ve started several times but get frustrated too quickly.

And finally, how do you wind down after work?

With three dogs and five kids there isn’t much time to wind down, however I enjoy tinkering with home automation technology and a trip to the pub is always enjoyable!

We’re growing at a rapid pace and are constantly looking for talented individuals to come and join our team.

Visit our Careers page for further details about the Firemind culture and new opportunities.