Lewis Bedford – Technology Delivery Lead

Another week, another Meet the Team! This week we feature our Technology Delivery Lead, Lewis Bedford. Lewis speaks on his life as an ex-basketballer, his time as a charity worker, and his early switch in career paths from Law to IT…

Tell us a bit about your Job role?

My role at John Hogg is Technology Delivery Lead, I’m responsible for managing the IT Support function at the business and working with colleagues and partners to develop and deliver the IT strategy. The department acts as a support function first and foremost, but a lot of my day-to-day involves managing suppliers and partner relationships and working to implement new and innovative systems and services for business colleagues to utilise.

How long have you been a part of the John Hogg team?

I joined the business in 2010 as an IT support technician, and since then I’ve had the opportunity to develop my professional skills and ‘climb the ladder’ so to speak, to a point where I’m a senior member of the IT team.

Did you attend University? If so, what did you study?

I didn’t actually. I fully intended to go into a career in law, but quickly realised that it wasn’t for me. I’ve always had an interest in IT from an early age, so that felt like the next natural step, but there wasn’t a relevant IT course then. Fortunately, there was a big emphasis from the government to modernise apprenticeships, which created a flood of new apprenticeships onto the market. I applied for several placements for IT and was ultimately accepted to join John Hogg and I’ve never looked back!

Tell me something about you that most people wouldn’t know

Throughout high school I was heavily involved in playing basketball, being 6’5 does kind of lean into that sport… I played at a sports England facility near where I grew up, and as I got into years 9 & 10, I was being invited to play in the weekend leagues with some much older players… I was really quite good at one point!

What was your first job, and did you enjoy it?

I did quite a bit of volunteering as a teenager and into my early 20s. Linking to when I was playing basketball in my teens, I volunteered as a courtside official doing all sorts of roles such as changing scoreboards, tracking downtime, signalling for substitutions etc.

As I got older, I also started doing volunteer work at the RSPCA. When I tell people this, they picture me inside an animal shelter, but really it was more about handling the deliveries and donations into the stores, which included a lot of till work and customer service… We dealt with all kinds of individuals, but it was good for my interpersonal skills and character-building.

What hobbies or activities do you enjoy doing outside of work?

Contrary to the IT stereotype, I don’t spend my free time with eyes glued to a screen playing video games or surfing the internet…

I enjoy spending time outdoors, going on walks & hikes when time allows it. I did a great walk not long ago in the Peak District, completing the Lud’s Church walk, and then moving on to the Roaches walk. We’re lucky to have the Peak District on our doorstep, it’s always great to get outdoors and explore. I enjoy checking out new restaurant openings, Manchester has a diverse range of cuisines to sample. I also enjoy a good board game nights with friends. Although, it can get a bit overly competitive at times!

If you could travel to any place in the world, where would it be and why?

I’d like to go back to North America at some point, doing a good few weeks in Canada would be fantastic. I’d love to go to the west coast of Canada in particular, to visit some of the national parks.

Which book or a movie has left a lasting impact on you and why?

Very early on in my IT career, I read the biography of Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson. It was a huge book! I was quite a stereotypical Apple fanboy, so I rushed out to pre-order that book. I found it really interesting learning about starting Apple from a garage, the fallouts, the competitiveness, and everything that followed.

What is a big fear of yours?

I guess I don’t like heights and things related to being high up, which is ironic for someone who is 6’5…

Your GOAT music artist?

How many can I have here!? I’ve always been interested in music so choosing a GOAT is very difficult, but I can give you some of my favourites.

In my early teens, I was a big fan of UK indie bands like Arctic Monkeys, Foals, The Cribs,  and The Courteeners. I still enjoy their music to this day. My music taste at the moment is quite varied, but I’m a big fan of The XX & Frank Ocean.

Do you have a favourite sports team?

If I had to support a local team it would be Manchester City because of family connection, but I don’t really follow any team that way. I do however always make an effort to watch the World Cup and the Euros when they’re on.

Over the last couple of years, I’ve got quite into watching the Tour de France, it’s just something a bit different. The thing that started this was the Netflix documentary called ‘Unchained’, which opened my eyes to the sport and the level of athletes those guys are.

If you could have dinner with anyone, living or deceased, who would it be?

I’d like to have a big table with some uniquely interesting people. The Hairy Bikers would be a good laugh, partially because they’d be the ones cooking the food. Along with them, Rick Stein the TV Chef, Jonny Ives from Apple, and Andy Burnham. I think the conversations at that table would be interesting…

If you could describe yourself in 3 words, what would they be?

Dependable, Authentic, Driven

What’s the best thing about your job?

No 2 days are the same! There are a lot of technical challenges that come my way, and I enjoy the feeling of developing these into solutions and seeing the progress from start to finish, it’s very rewarding.

My role has also recently developed aspects of the commercial department, which has meant that some of the things I work on are customer-facing, which is something relatively new and exciting for me.

What’s an important lesson you’ve learned while working at John Hogg?

Your role is not going to remain the same at John Hogg. You may think that you’ve hit a bit of a ceiling, but at John Hogg, there’s always room to improve your skills, progress, and expand your responsibilities. This is something I learnt quite early on at John Hogg and has helped me progress into the professional I am today.

What’s one piece of advice you’d give to new team members to succeed within our company culture?

I would say there are two main pieces of advice for new team members:

• Take advantage of the induction programme, be a sponge and take in as much information as you can by asking a lot of questions. It can be a tough few first weeks, but you should use this time to be inquisitive.
• Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. If you’re new to the business you should be okay with making mistakes, learning from them, and growing from them.

Finally; In your opinion, what sets John Hogg apart as an employer?

John Hogg is a supportive environment to work in. It always feels like we are working together towards the same goals with everyone being well aligned in that aspect, which comes down to our recruitment process.