The V3 Hot Seat: Lenovo UK & Ireland general manager Marc Godin

Godin has a passion for Oasis, Two and a Half Men, and a world with one uber device to supersede the current phone/tablet/laptop model

This week in the V3 Hot Seat, we have Marc Godin, vice president and general manager for the UK and Ireland at Lenovo.

Godin has served in this position since April 2012, the same year that the firm celebrated the 20th anniversary of the iconic ThinkPad brand of laptops and now tablets. Prior to this, he was vice president for Enterprise & Public Sector at Lenovo's Western Europe organisation, and general manager for the firm's Worldwide Enterprise Business Unit. He also spent 18 years with IBM, where he served in various sales and executive roles.

Godin takes to the V3 Hot Seat following Dell EMEA president Aongus Haggarty and Cisco UK chief technology officer Ian Foddering.
V3: What would be your dream job?

I would love to be a jet fighter pilot - every boy's childhood dream. I grew up in France when military service was still compulsory; and while some of my friends got this dream job, I didn't have the 20:20 vision to do it unfortunately.

Which mobile phone and tablet do you currently use?

I use a BlackBerry and wouldn't be without it. My tablet of choice of course is a Lenovo ThinkPad tablet - although my kids always end up using it more than I do.

Which person do you most admire in the IT industry?

It's almost impossible to pinpoint one person I admire more than any other. For me there are a number of channel partners that are run by individual entrepreneurs that have survived what is a very tough market over many years. They are constantly reinventing themselves and adapting - and growing very successful businesses out of it too.

Which technology has had the biggest impact on your working life?

There is no question that it's the combination of email and smartphone. I honestly wonder how we survived without them.

What has been the highlight of your career so far?

I have been in the IT industry for a number of years and as a result have experienced the good times and the bad. So my highlight would be being part of those ‘challenging times' and coming out the other side leading a truly recovered business.

What was your first job?

I started out selling PCs for IBM, and have come full circle to where I am now I guess. But I've been involved in selling servers, storage, software and services along the way.

What's your favourite thing about working in the IT industry?

That we are constantly facing new challenges and opportunities, new technologies, new competitors, new routes to market and so on. The industry keeps us on our toes by constantly challenging what we know.

The V3 Hot Seat: Lenovo UK & Ireland general manager Marc Godin

Godin has a passion for Oasis, Two and a Half Men, and a world with one uber device to supersede the current phone/tablet/laptop model

What will be the next big innovation of the coming years?

I sit on planes and trains and see so many people pulling device after device out of their bags - phone, iPod, BlackBerry, e-reader, laptop - the list goes on. I just think that there has to be a better way of consolidating devices.

What keeps you awake at night?

Nothing, I'm lucky that I don't need much sleep but when I'm asleep nothing can wake me or disturb me.

What was the last book you read?

A Simple Act of Violence by R J Ellory, a thriller set in Washington during the mid-term elections.

Who is your favourite band or musician?

I have a pretty varied taste but will always come back to Oasis. I like to try and outsmart my kids by knowing more about music than them, playing them a newly recorded artist that they think is from 20 years ago and vice versa.

Where's your favourite place for escape?

A simple stunning beach in South Brittany. My family has been going there for years, so it has lots of special memories for me. I can be in the market in the morning, playing beach volleyball in the afternoon and listening to live jazz in the evening. It's a very special place that without fail I go to every year.

E-readers or real books?

I don't get much time to read for myself but when I do it's likely to be while lying on sand, so it definitely has to be a real book.

The Beatles or Rolling Stones?

The Beatles - they come a very close second to Oasis as my favourite band.

Favourite film?

Beyond a couple of movies that I watch again and again, I particularly enjoy some TV series that have been running for years. Two and a Half Men is one of these, and whatever has happened during a given day or week, watching a few episodes will always put me back in the right mood

Windows or Mac OS?

Windows - of course.

If you want to volunteer for V3's Hot Seat, or want to suggest an IT leader you think should take part, please email [email protected] for more details.