With almost 15 years in the data centre and professional services world with Technimove, I’ve had the privilege of working alongside some truly inspiring leaders and directors. I’ve witnessed first-hand what it really means to achieve beautiful things simply by having the right people around the table.
In our sector, leadership within the sales function isn’t just about chasing targets or closing deals, it’s about enabling delivery success, building trust, and guiding teams through complex, high-stakes environments.
Why Leadership Matters More Than Ever
The data centre industry is transforming faster than ever, and it’s become more important than ever to ensure you have the correct people around that table with you. With the explosion of AI workloads and demand for GPU-intensive compute, deployments are bigger, faster, and more complex.
What used to be a straightforward install is now a multi-layered, infrastructure-defining project that involves technical teams, logistics, OEMs, and data centre operators — all needing to work in perfect harmony.
That’s where strong leadership makes the difference from my experience. It’s what turns moving parts into a well-oiled and successful machine.
When leadership is clear, projects flow. When it’s not, even the best technology in the world won’t save you from chaos, and that can cause a breakdown in confidence and trust.
Bringing Clarity to Complexity
Large GPU deployments involve a lot of coordination: understanding customer needs, designing solutions, managing procurement and logistics, ensuring data centre readiness, and keeping everything — and everyone — aligned.
Good leaders create structure and focus. They make sure:
- Internal teams stay aligned across technical, commercial, and operational areas
- There’s forward planning around power, cooling, and rack availability
- Communication with customers is spot on with details, timely, and transparent
- Data centre partners are brought in early for risk assessments and scheduling
The best managers don’t just “run deals.” They orchestrate collaboration, anticipate issues, and help their teams act proactively rather than reactively. They add real value.
A good leader is knowledgeable, calm, and motivational. They want to drive and inspire their teams and collaboratively solve anything that comes up. Continuously thriving to work with their teams to create solutions!
What Great Sales Leadership Looks Like
In high-pressure, high-value deployments, strong sales leadership usually shows up in four key ways:
Ownership and Accountability – Great leaders own the outcome and they don’t shift blame; they set goals, track progress, and hold themselves (and others) accountable.
Cross-Functional Alignment – They bridge the gap between commercial and technical teams so everyone moves in the same direction. This is so important, now more than ever and I have personally benefited from this support with our large-scale deployments.
Strategic Escalation – They don’t wait for problems to grow. They flag issues early and bring in the right people to fix them before they escalate.
Leaders and their teams should be morally obliged to highlight potentially challenges to clients and help remediate and create alternative solutions. This is why experience, scalability and knowledge are so incredibly important.
Customer-Centric Mindset – They work with customers, not just for them — staying flexible, finding solutions, focusing on outcomes.
Technimove: Leadership in Action
At Technimove, leadership isn’t an abstract concept — it’s part of how we work every day. With over 25 years in migrations, installations, and data centre projects across the globe, we’ve learned that success starts long before deployment day.
Our leadership structure is deliberately built to cover every critical function:
- Ochea Ikpa (CEO & Founder) drives our purpose, people, and passion — keeping us grounded in culture while staying hands-on with growth.
- Gareth Meyer (Chief Revenue Officer) focuses on empowering people and ensuring our sales teams are skilled, supported, and aligned.
- Graham Gaut (Director of Operations) champions service excellence, process improvement, and operational delivery.
Together, this leadership team makes sure what’s promised by sales is delivered by operations — consistently, confidently, and on time.
Technimove CEO, Ochea Ikpa and CRO, Gareth Meyer.
Built-In Excellence and Risk Mitigation
Strong leadership also means building robust systems around delivery. That’s why every Technimove project starts with a detailed planning phase.
We review everything — logistics, cooling, power, compliance — before anyone sets foot on site. Hardware is pre-staged, configured, and tested before delivery. Experienced project managers keep communication flowing.
It’s this attention to detail that keeps projects smooth and predictable — no last-minute surprises, no reactive firefighting.
We also pride ourselves on strong partnerships because the personalised approach is crucial in our current climate. Our relationships with data centres, OEMs, and hyperscalers mean we’re often involved early, helping to shape deployment plans rather than reacting to them. That collaboration consistently delivers faster, smoother rollouts.
Preventing the Risks of Poor Management
When you compare Technimove’s approach to the typical risks seen in large GPU deployments, the difference is clear:
Leadership Lessons You Can Apply
If you’re leading a sales or delivery team, especially in the GPU or data centre space, a few principles stand out:
- Build a leadership structure that covers all bases — sales, operations, delivery, and compliance – we all win TOGETHER.
- Hire for experience and let it shape your processes.
- Communicate constantly — internally, with partners, and with customers. Building and maintaining relationships is key.
- Always plan for risk and have contingencies ready.
- Treat your Data Centre and OEM partners as collaborators, not just suppliers.
Final Thoughts
As the race to power AI infrastructure accelerates, technology alone won’t define success — leadership will. Strong management turns complexity into clarity, ambition into delivery, and trust into long-term partnership.
At Technimove, we’ve learned that when leadership is grounded in accountability, communication, and care for people, it transforms everything — from project outcomes to customer relationships.
When you’re helping build a business that is ready for the future, leadership isn’t optional. It’s foundational.
I’ll say it once again for the people at the back…put the right people around a table on your critical projects, and beautiful things happen – just ask our clients!