“Ironically, the last sector I thought I would end up in was technology,” says Hardie. “While studying, I was more orientated towards sciences and arts. I fell into technology when I arrived in South Africa at 18, helping out in my mother’s business while I defined my future.

“I then formalised my career and worked for a well-known consumable reseller in my first official role as a product manager, before moving into the distribution of point-of-sale equipment. I have now spent 22 years working in the vendor space in numerous sales and business unit management roles, before taking on the regional directorship at VMware in 2018.”