Meet our Management Team

Paul Barlow

I’ve worked within the IT industry for over thirty years. In the very early days, a lot of this was spent working for vendors IBM and Compaq. It was in the early 90s that I decided to make the move into the partner community, and since then have held a number of senior roles including Managing Director of Equanet Ltd and Group Sales Director at DSGi Business. During my time at Equanet, I headed a successful team, achieving revenues of £75M and ultimately playing a key role in the sale of the company to PC World Business. In 2005, I was then recruited for the role of Group Sales Director at DSGi Business and became responsible for 10 sales channels and a team of over 300, which generated revenues of over £420M.

After a few years of travelling the length and breadth of the country and now with a young family, I wanted a role closer to home, and so spent a brief stint within Computercentre’s mid-market business looking after customers with up to 4000 seats. Being part of such a large organisation wasn’t really for me though – I wanted the opportunity to grow something from the ground-up, and jumped at the chance to form a partnership with some other industry veterans in 2010 – and so Servium was born.

Since then, I’ve overseen Servium’s growth into the well-established IT solutions provider it is today, and as CEO am constantly pushing the boundaries of what we can achieve as a business. We’ve continually seen impressive growth, and I’m very proud of the progress we’ve made in the last 10 years.

Outside of work, I’m also fully employed as an “Uber Dad” to my three wonderful kids. When I’m not taxiing them around to their various clubs and activities, I can be found in my WWII Willy’s Jeep, which as a fan of military history I absolutely adore. I’m also a huge lover of new tech and good or bad am an early adopter!

Patrick Wyly

After qualifying in 1991 as a Chartered Management Accountant, I worked for Blue Chip companies in the civil engineering, publishing, and packaging industries before moving to European Micro plc in 1996 as Financial Controller. As a key member of the team that took European Micro Inc. to a successful Nasdaq listing in 1998, I was promoted to the board in 2000.

After co-leading a successful asset buy-out of European Micro’s UK operation in 2001, I was a founding shareholder of Servium in 2010, initially facilitating the IT, Logistics, Finance, and legal platforms. Whilst Servium has gradually moved away from the shared service centre approach, during the 15 years of Servium’s growth I have continued to run the Finance function for the business, and advise on numerous commercial, legal, HR and insurance matters. Having divested my other business interests, I now work exclusively for Servium in the capacity of Chief Financial Officer.

I am married with two daughters, enjoy road cycling and given the opportunity, would happily put my RYA Day Skipper Yacht licence to good use around the Ionian islands of Greece.

Sharon Charman

As Commercial Director at Servium, I am responsible for all of our operational departments –customer service, procurement, supplier relationships, company policies and agreements. I also oversee our processes and efficiencies, whilst ensuring the business’ day-to-day compliance with regulation standards. I am incredibly proud to be a part of such a committed and forward-thinking company, a trait which has been regularly recognised by various industry award nominations and wins.

I’ve been fortunate enough to work within the IT industry for over 26 years, 16 of which were at board level with Equanet Ltd as Operations Director, and a further 9 in Senior Sales Management with Computacenter PLC, where I was responsible for a £400m revenue sales sector.

I believe that working hard to achieve what you set out to is the key to feeling accomplished. To me, it’s hugely important to be ready to embrace change and challenge yourself in order to create both business and personal growth, while still maintaining a healthy work/life balance in the process.

Away from Servium, I enjoy shooting things at the weekend! As Chairperson of our Field Archery Club, I look after 250 members with access to fifty acres of woodland, where we shoot 3D animals at competition level with traditional bows and arrows.

Darren Cooke

As New Business Director at Servium, I’m responsible for engaging with new and existing customers to help build and maintain long-term relationships. This involves working closely with their IT Departments to better understand their challenges and identify the right solutions to resolve these issues.

A large part of my role includes helping our internal sales teams generate new business within their existing customer portfolio, as well as driving the acquisition of new customers. In addition to this, I regularly work with the partners in our Services Ecosystem, plus our community of vendors to help compose the solutions we take to our customers.

Having spent over 20 years working with the IT industry, I’ve developed a wealth of knowledge, not only around technology, but also around customer relationships and how to deliver the best possible service. My aim is to see Servium become an integral part of each customer’s IT team over time.  Fundamental to this is no hard sell, just a strong belief in the value of the products and services we offer. A large number of our customers today have a long heritage working with me, a success I attribute to a this approach.

Although the nature of my role means that time outside of work is somewhat limited, I like to play golf, exercise regularly, and enjoy watching as much football as I can. Most importantly though, my family comes first, including my loving, caring wife (she would kill me if I didn’t give her a mention!) and three wonderful children: two girls and a boy.

Stuart Dean

As Sales Director, I’m responsible for managing Servium’s sales team across the UK, driving our strategy by liaising with trusted partners to ensure that we are not simply following market trends, but leading the way with pioneering technologies. I work closely with our support teams to make sure that every part of the business is focussed on delivering an excellent customer experience at all times. In regular meetings with both new and existing customers, I enjoy listening to their business challenges and identifying solutions that also help to further shape Servium’s sales strategy.

Before Servium, I was involved with two other organisations where I played major roles within their management teams. During this period, I oversaw significant change, smoothing the initial sales transition from a £70m business to a £700m organisation. I’m immensely proud to have been part of the team that initially founded, and has subsequently grown Servium into the business it is today.

My career to date has very much been centred around trust, not only that which I place in the team at Servium, but also that is placed in me from both customers and partners who know that they can rely on me to deliver on my promises.

I’m the proud father of two Girls and a lively Boxer dog who quite rightly take up a lot of my spare time. Now that my girls have reached an age where they no longer need Dad to go shopping with them, I have taken to the golf course. Despite my enjoyment, I don’t seem to be able to get my handicap down, but should you happen to spot me on the first tee, I definitely look the part! I also enjoy running and have covered over 4000 miles, which goes some way to keeping my other hobby, eating and drinking, in check.

Lisa Finn

I’ve worked in the IT industry for 21 years, in a variety of roles ranging from Channel Account Management for a key vendor in the early part of my career, a Head of Sales role where I owned the inaugural graduate programme as well as specialist roles in a small handful of the UK’s largest resellers.  

My specialism in IT services developed within a major UK IT reseller, where I learned the importance of fully understanding customer requirements and finding a suitable solution to their problem. Since then, I’ve been fortunate to work with a range of businesses, helping them to create services growth and innovate their offerings through customer engagement, ongoing education and continued awareness of services. 

My experiences have seen me satisfy the services requirements of FTSE 250 customers, with a huge emphasis on demonstrating value and creating a relationship built on trust and credibility across various industry verticals. 

I have also been fortunate to have taken a year’s sabbatical to complete overseas operational military service as part of my Army Reserve commitment. Amongst many other things my tour taught me was how to keep people motivated in delivering against a set objective over time to prevent complacency and ensure people’s safety. I was able to utilise key skills from my civilian employment to help me achieve some of my key objectives. I’m passionate about people and being able to guide them to achieve key milestones in their careers. 

Outside of work, I enjoy pushing myself at something, whether it’s running (having completed a marathon in 2022) or cycling and I have my eye on completing the Serpentine Swim in 2024 as part of the Classic Medal – trust me, the medal is worth it! I’m also an avid Welsh Rugby supporter (which may not go in my favour), a company Mental Health First Aider, and I also regularly volunteer with the elderly.