In this episode of You, Me and I.T., Karlton Gray sits down with Christine Horton, technology journalist and editor, for a warm, candid, and deeply human conversation about resilience, journalism, confidence, identity, and what it means to build a career in and around the IT channel on your own terms.

Christine reflects on her working-class upbringing, losing her father as a teenager, and becoming the first in her family to go to university. She shares how a long-held ambition to become a journalist eventually led her into technology publishing, despite having no intention of working in tech at all. From early roles covering telecoms and mobile, to editing channel publications and later building a successful freelance career, Christine talks openly about the twists, setbacks, and moments of reinvention that shaped her path.

The conversation also explores confidence, redundancy, life perspective, friendship, kindness, and the realities of being a woman in a male-dominated industry. Alongside her career story is a wider reflection on legacy, what success really looks like, and why being a good person matters more than titles or possessions.

In this episode of the podcast, Karlton sits down with Ian Kilpatrick, Co-Founder and Chair at Tech Channel Ambassadors, for a thoughtful and deeply personal conversation about resilience, opportunity, inclusion, and why the IT channel needs to do far more to open its doors to the next generation.

Ian reflects on his upbringing, the challenges he faced at school and at home, and the unconventional path that led him into work and eventually into the IT channel. From leaving school early and experiencing homelessness, to building a career across finance, industry, entrepreneurship, and distribution, he shares the people, risks, and moments that helped shape his outlook on leadership and life.

The conversation also explores Ian’s passion for social mobility, diversity, and creating better access into the industry. He explains why so many young people still don’t see the IT channel as a career option, why the sector needs a clearer long-term strategy, and how Tech Channel Ambassadors is working to connect industry professionals with schools to inspire future talent.

In this episode of You, Me and I.T., Karlton Gray sits down with Dr. Colin Williams, Business CTO for Security at Computacenter, for a powerful and deeply personal conversation about resilience, identity, leadership, and what it means to build a legacy in the IT channel.

Colin reflects on growing up in North London, the challenges of standing out as both gifted and different at school, and the personal loss and hardship that shaped his outlook from a young age. He shares how those early experiences influenced the person and leader he became, from walking away from home as a teenager to finding his path in the earliest days of the IT industry.

The conversation also explores Colin’s remarkable journey through the evolution of technology, from mainframes and punch cards to the rise of PCs, networking, cybersecurity, and AI. Alongside that career story is a bigger message about fairness, opportunity, mentorship, and why opening doors for others matters just as much as personal success.