We were delighted to announce Brandon Webb, our Head of Operations as our Enable Growth Advocate following our Living The Values Awards at our Family BBQ. The awards were given based on feedback and nominations from everyone here at Apex!
I was incredibly honoured to be nominated by my colleagues at Apex for the value "Enable Growth" and was so moved to win. We all work so hard to live this value and I can only thank my colleagues without whom this achievement could not be possible. In this, my first year at Apex, the team have supported the transformation and change with positivity and dedication. To be where we are now is testament to their hard work and support. I am proud to be part of this team and the authentic nature of our culture and values. This means more at Apex (it is one of the many reasons I am here) and I am honoured to be recognised by the people of Apex in this way.
Everyone each and every day! We all do great things each day that inspire me. Achieving the impossible almost weekly! It is touch and go sometimes, especially facing difficulties with our development. I love seeing colleagues work so hard to improve, to overcome development challenges with support and coaching. That really is magic!
If I was to be pushed for names though, I would have to say both Chris as CEO and Daniel as MD. Their journey growing Apex into what it is now, that is a true success story. The values and the authenticity I have spoken about come from them. We all draw on that. Daniel has an unwavering commitment to our customers and building not just relationships, but friendships with our clients. That personal touch permeates down to how we all interact with our customers (and each other). Daniel really cares deeply about the service we provide and the customer's success. He also cares about our personal happiness and wellbeing. We all feed off that.
Chris is so deeply knowledgeable. His calm and steady approach, his holistic and collaborative manner in his decision making ensures we all have surety and confidence in the strategic direction of Apex and a calm feeling through out all we do. Chris listens and collaboration is king. We feel listened to and valued as a result.
The temptation with success is to sometimes become too sure of yourself and your experience. You can maybe forget the people that have helped you build your success. You can sometimes not seek out colleague's different experiences and miss out on how they can make you stronger. That is very normal, however I have never met two business owners as humble and genuinely appreciative of those who have helped shape the businesses success along the way, nor be so willing to listen and learn each day before I met Daniel and Chris. They have long memories and are honourable in their approach with fairness and integrity. Very rare and incredibly inspirational.
In football a great football manager like Alex Ferguson, Bill Shankly or Jurgen Klopp does not just lead or dictate, they change the way everyone in the club thinks. They make everyone believe and also set the standard. This is what Apex is like. I subscribe to the quote "You don't recruit smart people to tell them what to do, you recruit smart people to have them tell you what to do". Here, we recruit smart people, and we absolutely collaborate to come to mutual agreement. We all play a part in what we do. That mentality comes from the very top, and from the very beginning of Apex, from Chris and Daniel. There is nothing like Apex. That is what inspires me in this team.
"Brandon has been part of a huge culture change at Apex by his work in bringing people together and inspiring, and mentoring us through leadership. Brandon often provides amazing alternative Ideas to situations and involves different skill sets which may not have been considered. He also makes everyone know how important they are to the role and has the trust of us all. Whenever Brandon has taken ownership and navigated through a difficult issue, he is quick to pass the win over to a team member and promotes their success rather than his own."
The values run through all we do. They are not just words on a page. We live and breathe them. We even reward colleagues for living the values through annual awards. They help us coach each other and provide us with guidance in the situations we face each day. They are like guiding principles in that the values we talk about are a way to act in scenarios. They help us make the right move, do the right things and act in the right way. They empower our colleagues to work together in a better way. A way that is aligned to our values. A way that really differentiates us from other MSPs and businesses. How we do what we do is as important as what we do. The values supercharge how we do and give us clarity. Aligning to the values and really living them, makes Apex a great place to be, a great place to work, and they very best to interact with as a customer.
I started with the FANTASTIC Sinclair ZX Spectrums as a child and found my love for IT taking my time programming them for hours on end. They changed my life growing up. In my working life though, I worked so hard to get a start in IT and began on a Service Desk frontline and then worked even harder from there to progress in my career. I joined MSP-land after experiencing some repeatedly poor service from some big MSP players in my time working in IT for a national bank as a stakeholder/customer. I spent far too long debating, negotiating and complaining to the multiple MSPs about underdelivering that I felt I could make a difference in that sector. MSPs are about delivering value and reducing cost/risk for the customer, not causing headaches. I try to live by that in my day-to-day and in all I do. I remember my experience as a customer of an MSP and believe that MSPs should make life easier and simpler so clients can concentrate on what matters to them, their vision, their business and their customers. MSPs should not get in the way, we should make the way easier. Apex genuinely live and breathe that.
What's your proudest professional achievement to date?
There are a few moments really... being part of a small but talented and capable team many moons ago, that delivered the very first outsourcing of a Bank's infrastructure to a private cloud successfully with very few issues (and no newsworthy bits other than the successful migration) was a magic moment for me personally in the past. Generally though, in terms of proudest moments, I have been lucky enough in my career to have had many mentors over the years who have coached, encouraged, developed and maybe taken pity on me! That was quite a bit of alchemy and changed me for which I'm eternally grateful. I made it my mission to pay that forward and I have done so many times and have had the privilege to work with some incredible people and help develop them into leaders. I love developing people, facilitating opportunity and nurturing their development. I now encourage and help others to do the same. It genuinely gives me happiness knowing I've helped people (in some way) to achieve something they are proud of and maybe become something they didn't think was possible before. I have made that happen for quite a few great people and that really does make me happy and proud more than anything else in my career.
"I was incredibly honoured to be nominated by all my colleagues at Apex for the value "We enable growth" and was so moved to actually win. We all work so hard to live this value and I can only thank all of my colleagues without whom, this achievement could not be possible. In this, my first year at Apex, the team have supported the transformation and Change with positivity and dedication. To be where we are now is testament to their hard work and support. I am proud to be part of this team and the authentic nature of our culture and values. This means more at Apex (it is one of the many reasons I am here) and I am honoured to be recognised by the people of Apex in this way. Thank you so much,” said Brandon.
ITIL 4 has a great guiding principle, “Think and work holistically”. What does it mean? Well, it is rarely, just fix it and move on. Zoom in to the issue and understand what it is, why it is how it is and then consider the solution not just on the fix but zoom out and think about the wider impact of the issue and solution on all levels. Think about the chance of it reoccurring with the solution you are planning. Think also about the customer and their experience in all of it. Tech issues (or any issue) can sometimes be scary, confusing or even overwhelming when we don’t understand... be that as colleagues or customers.
As Techies, we can sometimes just focus on the tech and getting the job done. At Apex though, we think about the experience of the customer and how they feel. If we think and work holistically, we always take the time to consider that experience so we try to reassure and educate whenever we can, not just get a job done. It is not solely about making things right with IT, we are here to bring confidence and value, not just a fix. If you think and work holistically in all you do by considering the impact of the event and solution on all levels, you will come up with not just the right solution to address the issue, but solutions that deliver on many levels. Not just in IT but in life so... think and work holistically!
Authenticity. I have never experienced it so consistently right across a business. In business, there are always some who are not connected with “our” way of working. Don’t get me wrong, I have worked in some fantastic businesses in the past and there has absolutely been authenticity but here, it is absolutely a uniquely Apex thing to have it top and bottom. It makes it much easier to achieve, and the office environment is brilliant as a result. My colleagues can be themselves and we can be honest if we miss something or make a mistake without fear of reproach. Risk is not driven underground; it is embraced as a vehicle for improvement. When we recruit, we recruit people that align to our values and have the right attitude first before anything else. It is something we do not compromise on. Our culture, values and ethics are central. It must be authentic here and that shines through in all we do.
For me (not being from Manchester), there is so much I love about the city. Our office location though is unrivalled. To be able to park up in the morning next to the water. To take a walk at lunch with colleagues through Salford Quays, rain or shine, it is beautiful. I am a fan of green hills and rural life but having this, the water surrounding our office is the closest to beauty you can get in a city. I love it. I have worked in Manchester off and on for a few decades now and I genuinely love the city but had surprisingly never been to the Quays for any length of time before coming to Apex. It really is a hidden gem for me and our office location is fantastic.
"Since joining the team last year, Brandon has been a true catalyst for growth - both for the business and for me personally. He's provided thoughtful mentorship where it mattered most, helping me navigate the challenges and refine my skills. More recently, he's been instrumental in unlocking my potential, reshaping my role into something I truly enjoy and excel at. Brandon leads with integrity, takes the time to understand his team, and ensures we're always working together to bring out the best in each other."
Motorbikes (riding and watching racing – road, TT and Moto GP), music, Spectrum computers (yes... still) Boxing, Ju Jitsu, but most of all, spending time with my wife and children doing family things.
I once recorded an album of my own music in Richmond, Virginia, USA... there is a good reason few people have heard of it!!!