PCR’s Under 30’s Rising Stars of the Industry 2022

The tech channel has some fantastic young talented professionals. To celebrate this, we scouted some of out the best in the industry. Here’s who shone the brightest.

** Winners of this year’s Rising Stars of the Industry award**

Lewis Williamson
Business Development Executive
Maverick AV Solutions
Age: 25

“Lewis Williamson plays an important role in the UK team at Maverick AV Solutions as BDE for Logitech unmanaged partners. This brand has seen stellar growth in the sector and Lewis’s energetic approach to his role ensures that projects large and small are specified and deployed effectively alongside the company’s partners.

“Working at Tech Data for the past three years, Lewis joined the company working in the Cisco UC business unit as an Internal Sales Executive; and after two years he moved to Maverick AV Solutions, taking up the role of Logitech Business Development Executive in June 2021.

“Lewis has become a subject matter expert within UC and video conferencing. His passion for technology, supportiveness towards his peers and high energy has made an undoubtedly positive impact.

“His commitment to his own professional development and eye for detail has seen him develop and own the company’s new Logitech Unite Partner Program – a TDM/Logitech program designed to foster partners’ UC journeys and provide them with a specialised curated user experience.”

Hannah Freeman
Retail Sales Account Manager
Intel
Age: 27

“Hannah is a rising star within Intel and the UK tech ecosystem. With a wealth of experience from working with multinationals and formulating end-to-end pricing strategies, she now compliments her skillset with energy, enthusiasm, and motivation in a sales environment. Hannah is known for strategic thinking which enables her to create and deploy successful, scalable sales plans. At the tender age of 27 she has a big future ahead of her!!”

*Both will receive a much coveted ticket to this year’s PCR Awards*

Well done Lewis and Hannah!

PCR’s Rising Stars of the Industry: Well done to eveyone who made the list! 

Alex Huntley
Strategic Seller Manager
OnBuy
Age: 27

“Alex joined OnBuy 4 years ago, as employee number 10, when the company was in its inception. Being the very first member of the sales team, Alex onboarded some of OnBuy’s first ever retailers. Since then, he has experienced continued success securing thousands of retailers to the platform, from independent sellers to some of the largest brands across the globe. Not only has “Alex smashed his sign up and onboarding targets, but he has continually gone above and beyond to provide exceptional account management and support, which has been a valuable tool to help grow his clients success and maintain OnBuy’s seller base. Alex continues to gain valuable experience within the industry, and more and more he leans in on his expanding expertise to support “other functions within the commercial function. One key department that he has become heavily involved with is OnBuy’s partnership team, getting involved in such areas as channel integrations, logistics and fulfilment. Supporting his retailers and partners has always been a key focus for Alex, which is why he has taken part in over 50 webinars to OnBuy’s partner network, helping to increase their understanding of the marketplace landscape.

Alex Astbury
B2C Marketing Executive
BenQ
Age: 28

“Starting his career in Technical Support, Alex Astbury decided to take his extensive knowledge of technology into the world of sales. Beginning his journey as a Sales Apprentice in 2014, Alex completed the entire training programme in an incredible six months.

“In 2015 Alex was made an ETail Account Manager and was responsible for developing partnerships with some of the UK’s largest E-tailers, managing over 50 independent retail stores and developing new business opportunities across the UK.

“Alex quickly progressed into the role of Channel Account Manager within the gaming sector, where he managed relationships with Amazon, Argos and SDG, leading to extremely successful business and eCommerce partnership development, brand awareness expansion and ultimately, sales activation increases.

“Now, 11 months into his career as BenQ’s B2C Sales Manager, Alex is responsible for management of all major UK ETail and Retail accounts within the UK. He has gone from strength to strength, creating fantastic opportunities and areas of growth for our clients; meeting and exceeding targets and developing impenetrable relationships that demonstrate the strength and commitment of our brand.”

Alex Taylor
Digital Marketing Executive
BenQ
Age: 26

“With a 1st Class BA Hons in Business and Marketing, Alex came to BenQ UK with a broad range of knowledge and experience within the marketing industry. Since joining BenQ in 2021, she has been a fundamental figure in supporting the growth of the UK marketing department, supporting the transition from a divisional consumer and business offering to a consolidated multifaceted portfolio perspective.

“Working with the team, Alex has championed and delivered an enhanced digital marketing strategy that supports BenQ’s partners, clients and end-users by making information more accessible through online channels.

“In addition, Alex has delivered new experiences including tours, workshops and hybrid events for different sales channels and partner organisations.

By enhancing BenQ’s presence through digital marketing, Alex has increased the reach and visibility of the brand’s portfolio with its consumers. In terms of performance Alex not only meets and exceeds any target set for her, but has an incredible ability to curate solutions that are logical, creative and deliver results.

“She is definitely one to watch in our industry.”

Danielle Mercure
Commercial Finance Analyst
Exertis
Age: 26

“Since joining Commercial Finance without any Finance experience/education, Danielle has excelled both in her practical workload and through her professional CIMA studies.

“She had just short of 2 years’ experience supporting the Retail Basingstoke Sales community with excellent service levels, and has moved on to a different area, diving into the deep end yet again to gather more experience, this time mostly supporting Commercial.

“She has consistently gained great feedback from senior stakeholders across Exertis and continues to be a rising star and shining example of forging a career in Exertis if you have the right ambition, motivation and attitude.”

Georgia Harwood
Group Marketing Executive
Centerprise International Ltd
Age: 22

“Following Georgia’s graduation in Communications and Media last July 2021, she decided to start her career in the fastest-growing industry of Information Technology and her feet haven’t touched the ground. Every day is different and she says, it allows her to use her organisational skills to keep on top of routine and ad-hoc tasks. Two months after starting her new role, she redesigned the company’s internal weekly market and monthly newsletters and integrated them into the company’s new Microsoft CRM platform. The opportunity to learn a new application from scratch while delivering on her commitments was challenging and empowering in terms of personal development and service to others. Some of her projects include planning and executing marketing campaigns on behalf of the company’s best in class IT innovation partners, all of which have delivered successful results against target.

“Also, within the last year, she volunteered to support a Domestic Abuse Charity by creating a campaign to target a demographic of 16–24-year-olds and raise their awareness around how domestic abuse within their age group increased during the Covid-19 pandemic. The campaign included creating regular content for publication across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube; additionally, she interviewed several victims to understand their experiences and use the findings within promotional content and for the Charity’s own records. This is a project very close to her heart and something she is extremely proud of!”

Jack Roskell
Product Manager Smart Tech
Exertis
Age: 24

“Jack joined Exertis as an apprentice back in August 2019 and has surpassed all expectations. Jack has not only secured a permanent position within the high-paced and demanding Smart Tech business unit, but has also secured a promotion since going permanent in May. Jack is the definition of a team player and regardless of his own workload will always make time to support anyone who needs help. Coupled with his strong systems, analytical and collaborative skill set, Jack now looks after one of our most complex vendor sets. Jack has a very promising future ahead of him.”

Jake McCormick
Senior Unified Communications Consultant
Project Audio Visual
Age: 25

“Since joining the company in 2020, Jake has demonstrated his technical prowess, commitment to professional development and skills in devising solutions to transform a client’s business, always going the extra mile.

Having previously worked in distribution, Jake has transitioned seamlessly into the world of integration. He has made more sales than anyone else in their first 12 months at the company and was quickly promoted into a senior role. Building solid relationships with large corporate customers has resulted in Jake selling over 300 Microsoft Teams Rooms.

He strives to advance his skills and professional knowledge quickly. Over the last year, Jake has completed 15 qualifications, advancing his knowledge with Surface Hub and Microsoft accredited courses, completing partner training with Barco, Mersive, Shure, Logitech and Crestron, and passing AVIXA industry standard accreditations. He is self-motivated in achieving these and always looking for ways to streamline his working process, advance his skills and bring new knowledge into the business, ready to put into practice for clients.”

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