Phoenix Software > About Us > Management Team

A highly qualified and experienced team focused on staff engagement and customer success.

Their collective experience and effective leadership have been key in making us the forward thinking, customer and employee-focused business that we are today.

Sam Mudd - Managing Director

Sam joined Phoenix as a solutions sales manager in November 2003, having previously held senior roles at WordPerfect, Novell Inc., and Trustmarque Solutions.

When Sam became a Phoenix director in 2009, it had 113 staff and gross invoiced income (GII) of £52 million. Sam then became MD in 2014, and Phoenix now has a GII of £425 million and more than 300 employees. Phoenix has won numerous IT sector awards during this period, namely Microsoft UK Partner of the Year 2021. In October 2020, Sam won the Women in Channel ‘Industry Achievement Award 2020’ from IT reseller magazine CRN. Two years earlier, she was ‘2018 Business Leader of the Year’ at the Women in IT awards.

Outside of work, Sam is a Member Board of Trustee for Scarborough’s Saint Catherine’s Hospice.

Paul Emms - Finance Director

Paul started his career qualifying as a chartered accountant with Price Waterhouse (now PwC) where he spent eight years. He then spent six years working in senior Finance roles at both BT PLC and Bradford & Bingley, before joining Phoenix Software in 2004. Now with 17 years’ experience in the business, Paul has responsibility for our Finance, HR, Contracts & Legal functions. His role includes producing financial and management information to the highest standard in order to shape strategy and improve processes and policies, as well as executing complex projects and supporting bids and solution development.

Clare Metcalfe - Operational Director

Clare Metcalfe joined Phoenix Software in 1997, bringing experience from her previous ten years’ in the IT industry within sales and purchasing roles. She has had held a number of senior management positions within the company before being appointed to the Board of Directors in 2018.

Her responsibilities span the Operations and Systems Development departments, as well as IT governance standards. Clare is committed to delivering optimum customer service by ensuring continual improvement across our systems and processes and is currently leading an integrated digitisation strategy for all departments.

Darren Goldsborough - Chief Technology Officer

Darren Goldsborough has worked in IT for almost 30 years, delivering a wide range of projects covering infrastructure, storage, networking, security and compute. Darren started programming when he was nine years old – so there was only ever one career path for him and he has worked for the likes of Hoskyns/CapGemini, the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA), Prudential Insurance, Barclays Bank PLC and HSBC Bank PLC.

Then, in late 2001, Darren brought this experience to Phoenix Software where he has been the IT Director and more recently the CTO. He has been instrumental in providing technical solutions and knowledge across a wide customer base, helping IT leaders develop suitable strategies for business transformation using relevant technologies within their organisation.

Keith Martin - Sales Director

Keith started his IT Career as a Marketing Executive for a Microsoft partner before moving to Phoenix Software in 2001 and has spent the last 20 years working with and delivering innovative solutions across the UK Public Sector.

Since 2011, Keith has focused specifically on local and regional government, NHS, Bluelight, and central government, successfully growing the business during some of the most challenging times that the UK Public Sector has ever faced.

Now overseeing a team of 88, Keith is a business leader in technology and an active role model for all his team members. In his 20 years with Phoenix, he has demonstrated leadership and business achievements that have inspired many of young graduates who have joined the business and in March 2019 he was appointed Sales Director.

Keith is outcome focused and is known for working closely with customers to help them meet the financial and technological challenges that they face, while improving and enhancing the services they deliver.

As an avid ice hockey fan, Keith has travelled around the world watching the sport live and also spends his free time supporting local schools by providing careers advice and guidance.

Craig Taylor - Director of Cloud Solutions

Craig has enjoyed a diverse and rewarding career in IT and business, focusing predominantly on the Microsoft technology stack and is passionate about helping Public Sector organisations utilise digital technology to improve their services to deliver better results for staff and citizens. He has proven experience in both established channel partners and Systems Integrators, as well as founding and running a high-tech start-up with a global presence.

Craig enjoys supporting others to develop their careers and was given the Strathclyde People Award in 2014 for Services to Entrepreneurship and Mentoring. He also currently volunteers as the Chairman and Trustee of Community Counselling, a Yorkshire based charity who support vulnerable people.

Ben Rayner - Director of Managed Services and Solutions

Ben Rayner has worked in the IT industry for 20 years, initially managing IT infrastructure teams at various organisations and helping them to define their IT strategies whilst focusing on using IT as an enabler to increase the bottom line. Ben decided to use the expertise he had learnt to assist other organisations and initially set up his own IT consultancy business, before moving his skills across to Phoenix Software. As the Director of Managed Services and Solutions at Phoenix Software he continues to provide agnostic advice to customers on their IT strategies and on digital transformation solutions.

David Chamberlain - General Manager of SAM Services

David joined Phoenix in 1997 and heads up our SAM Services Division providing expertise, advice and support on ITAM Solutions and Digital Transformation.

Within the group he is also the primary contributor of required functionality in the License Dashboard Platform of products and works closely with License Dashboard’s enterprise customers and Authorised Service Provider partners across the globe as Senior Vice President.

Jonny Scott - Vendor Alliance Manager

Jonny entered the world of IT at the age of 17. After working in Corporate Sales for 3 years, Jonny moved to a more strategic role at Phoenix within the business development team managing bids and vendor relationships. After building up the skills and knowledge to understand the relevant technologies that fit different sectors, Jonny became the Vendor Alliance Manager at Phoenix.

Jonny and his team manage a portfolio of over 650 vendors. Jonny’s aim is to find the perfect balance between value and cutting-edge technology for Phoenix customers. Jonny now has 12 years of industry experience under his belt working within the channel.

Ben Murden - Head of Marketing

Ben has over two decades in the IT industry, delivering both online and offline campaigns across all platforms to meet business goals and objectives.

Joining Phoenix in 1999 as a Graphic Designer, Ben has evolved over the years into a fully-rounded marketing professional, before being promoted to Marketing Manager early in 2018, and then Head of Marketing in 2022, reporting directly to the MD.

With his background in creative design, Ben takes projects from inception to execution and can identify the correct strategy based on the subject, audience and goals – while increasing the brand profile and revenue. His passion for digital marketing is evident in everything he does and both vendors and strategic partners often comment on his incredibly positive attitude to ‘make things happen’.

About Phoenix

With over 30 years’ experience, our expert understanding of software licensing and transformational infrastructure solutions, coupled with the insight and innovation of our delivery consultants, means that we are perfectly placed to advise you on every aspect of your IT strategy from concept, design and deployment through to software licence management, cost optimisation and compliance.

We believe that the integrity of the company and its people is critical and have been certified by Best Companies for our commitment to employees, with a 3-star accreditation rating. We were described as a well led and well managed organisation demonstrating ‘world class’ levels of employee engagement, despite the current unprecedented circumstances.

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