Meet the Europlus Direct team
Jim Hart, CEO
Jim studied French and German at the University of Nottingham. His first job was in publishing and selling into the German market. After having travelled, Jim helped a company selling and marketing IT services to expand throughout Europe. Jim set up Europlus Direct in 2004 and what he loves most is the international growth prospect and working with such a customer-oriented team. Jim’s hobbies include travel photography and sports.
Steve Potts, Director, EPD Asia Pacific Pty Ltd
Steve studied politics and languages at Loughborough University and after his Masters Degree he took a three month short term contract at a company in Saltaire, working in telesales. Five years on, he is still here and the firm has grown from 5 to more than 35 employees. Steve moved to Sydney, Australia to launch and manage the company’s sales office there and is now a company director. Outside of work, Steve loves football and is a lifelong Bradford City fan. He loves travelling, speaks fluent French and has studied German, Spanish and even Welsh. Having lived in the UK, France, Australia and Tanzania, Steve enjoys experiencing new countries and cultures. In between all this, he loves snowboarding and mountain biking, and wakeboarding is next on his list.
Yves Ramloll, Director, EPD Mauritius
With 23 years’ experience, predominantly at managerial level, Yves has spent the last seven years working as a head of department, developing and maintaining a high level of customer service and developing new services. The thing that Yves loves about working at Europlus Direct is the opportunity to open the window on global business access and the fact that he can expand his knowledge every day whilst working with such a pleasant, professional and pro-active team. To be successful at Europlus Direct, Yves says the most important thing is to be ambitious and be positive.
Marleen Watts, Head of IBM Services Worldwide
Having successfully completed a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration in the Netherlands, Marleen worked as a marketer for a year before moving to the UK in 2005 and took the opportunity to work for Europlus Direct as a Sales Executive for the BeNeLux market. Having progressed in her time at EPD, Marleen now heads the WorldWide IBM ServicePac division. Outside of work, Marleen loves spending time with her son Tom, travelling to hot and sunny destinations and at weekends, she loves spending time with friends and family, reading and hiking in the Yorkshire Dales.
David Patrouilleau, Account Manager, IBM France
Coming from a Microbiology and chemistry background, David worked in the hostelling business in London until he discovered Europlus Direct. What David loves most about EPD is the chance to deal with requests from some great international companies and learning how to grow the company. In his personal time, David loves spending time with his family and friends, playing the piano, bouldering and Capoeira (Brazilian Martial Arts).
Amelia Hoefele, Account Manager, IBM Germany, Austria, Switzerland
One of the best things about working at Europlus Direct for Amelia is the people. Everyone in the team is so friendly and you can really rely on people to sort things out for you when you ask for help. Amelia loves to speak to people so she loves working in a role where building a good rapport with clients is encouraged. Another thing she likes is that in this job you get out of the role what you put in and good work is rewarded.
Paul Vlahovic, Account Manager, IBM UK
When asked for his opinion on the best thing about working at Europlus Direct, Paul said there were too many things to mention but loves the fact that there are so many challenges that no day is the same. He also likes that the managers are helpful with any questions and you get to meet people from all over the world thanks to the international sales executives. To be successful at Europlus Direct, Paul says you have to have great customer care skills, be willing to give that extra effort to everything you do and negotiate to get the best deal for your customers and the company. A sense of humor always helps.
Patrice Legoff, Account Manager, IBM France
Patrice loves the combination of good fun and business attitude at Europlus Direct and what he loves the most is being part of an international sales team that finds real solutions for its clients and plays such a pivotal role in the international business scene. Patrice quoted three important qualities for being successful at EPD: a good knowledge of the IT industry, being customer focused and generating sales.
Don Adhepeau, Account Manager, IBM France
To Don, working at Europlus Direct means working in a fun, relaxed, professional and challenging environment that brings with it a lot of opportunities. He loves working in a place where he really enjoys the team he’s working with and says they share a lot together, trust each other and have a lot of fun. Don’s hobbies include reading, travelling, going to the movies and is a big football fan.
Mirko Prete, Account Manager, IBM Italy
Mirko loves the international working environment at Europlus Direct and the fact that his job allows him to interact with such an immense range of customers. Thanks to his experience in strategic and creative thinking and planning, and his problem solving skills, Mirko feels able to deal with any pressure he faces. Mirko enjoys managing and prioritising his time, following compliance procedures and generating and following up on sales leads for products and services. In his spare time, Mirko loves travelling and being in multi-cultural environments. He has travelled to Brazil, Venezuela, Turkey, Italy, France, Spain and throughout the UK. Mirko enjoys football, tennis, swimming, walking and goes regularly to the gym. He loves both Latin and English music, the cinema and literature.