Phil Young

Name: Phil Young.

Employer and official job title: Amtrak; head of IT operations.

What do most people call you? Sir (only joking - Phil is fine).

Who do you report to? The Group MD.

Nature of organisation and total headcount: Logistics, B2C and B2B; approximately 2,500 employees.

IT headcount: 36.

IT budget: Approximately £3m.

Biggest career success? Being part of the team moving Amtrak from a loss-making position to a profitable one in a period of one year and now in the process of acquisition.

Greatest flop (that you can tell us about)? Being employed in a network support role for a period of one month before the company went to the wall.

Greatest influence on career: My mother, insisting I get out of bed in the mornings to do something useful.

Greatest strength: A well-rounded career covering electronics, analysis, development and management allowing me to be a hybrid businessperson.

Area where you most want to improve yourself: Company Direction - legislation and legal.

What single thing would make your job easier? The assassination of virus writers.

If you could only pass on one piece of advice to your successor, what would it be? Listen to everyone, absorb it, learn from it but ultimately make your own judgement.

Which business issue/technology excites you the most? The integration of businesses.

What keeps you awake at night? Running IT in a 24/7 operation and waiting for that dreaded call at 2am in the morning.

Home life: Engaged to be married and living in a semi-rural location in Worcestershire. I have three children - two girls and one boy.

Hobbies: I enjoy visiting different countries. We have a lot of friends and family and enjoy getting them together for an afternoon/evening of food and drink.

Last book read: Harry Potter (nothing else to read on holiday so I stole one of the children's books).

Last CD bought/downloaded: Forever Faithless - Faithless.

Favourite holiday destination: The Caribbean.

What would your personal motto be? 'Simplicity' - keep it simple.

Greatest fear: That my children might not grow up to fulfil their potential.

My idea of perfect happiness is… my partner by my side, a bottle of red wine, a balmy evening on a distant shore.