Management team

Clare Metcalfe joined Phoenix in 1997, augmented by a decade of prior experience in the IT industry, specifically in sales and procurement roles. 

She has had held a number of senior management positions within the company, leading to her appointment as Operations Director and to the Board of Directors in 2018, then Managing Director in 2024. In these roles she has overseen a broad spectrum of responsibilities encompassing Risk and Governance alongside the Operations and Systems Development departments. 

She stepped up to be the Managing Director in May 2024 where her passion for innovation and transformation continues with commitment to supporting customers to digitally transform and deliver on their business outcomes.

Simon Rippon is the Finance Director for Phoenix. He is a CIMA qualified accountant with over 20 years’ post-qualified experience, his career spanning a variety of sectors including property, technology, and banking, in both listed and unlisted companies.  

Since joining Phoenix in 2004, he has worked to strengthen and grow our internal systems and financial controls to aid the expansion of the company. He also provides commercial and financial support to colleagues across the business. Simon was promoted to Finance Director in January 2022 and is now also responsible for the production of financial and management information to the highest standard. 

Keith started his IT career as a Marketing Executive for a Microsoft partner before moving to Phoenix Software in 2001. He has spent his time at Phoenix working with and delivering innovative solutions across the UK. 

Since 2011, Keith has focused specifically on local and regional government, NHS, bluelight, and central government, successfully growing the business during some of the most challenging times that the UK public sector has ever faced. 

Now overseeing a large team across the public and private sectors, Keith is a business leader in technology and an active role model for all of his team members. In his years with Phoenix, he has demonstrated leadership and business achievements that have inspired many who have joined the business. In March 2019 he was appointed Sales Director and in March 2024 he was appointed onto the Phoenix Board. 

Keith is outcome focused and is known for working closely with customers to help them meet the financial and technological challenges that they face, while improving and enhancing the services they deliver. 

Craig has enjoyed a diverse and rewarding career in IT and business, focusing predominantly on the Microsoft technology stack, and is passionate about helping organisations utilise digital technology to improve their services to deliver better results for staff and users. He has proven experience in both established channel partners and systems integrators, as well as founding and running a high-tech start-up with a global presence. 

Craig enjoys supporting others to develop their careers and was given the Strathclyde People Award in 2014 for Services to Entrepreneurship and Mentoring. He also currently volunteers as the Chairman and Trustee of Community Counselling, a Yorkshire based charity who support vulnerable people. 

Ben Rayner has worked in the IT industry for over 25 years, initially managing IT infrastructure teams at various organisations and helping them to define their IT strategies while focusing on using IT as an enabler to increase the bottom line. Ben decided to use the expertise he had learnt to assist other organisations and initially set up his own IT consultancy business, before moving his skills across to Phoenix.  

As the Director of Managed Services and Solutions at Phoenix, he continues to provide agnostic advice to customers on their IT strategies and on digital transformation solutions. 

Sean is a pioneer of SAM with over 20 years’ experience in software licensing compliance. He developed the industry leading, software asset and licence management tool, License Manager, delivering SAM services to some of the largest companies in the world. He has been involved in over 2,500 software asset management (SAM) projects worldwide, for organisations of all sizes (typically 500 to 120,000 desktops) and across all sectors.

Sean has been a Director at Investors in Software and Federation Against Software Theft (FAST), the world’s first organisation to promote the legal use of software and defend the intellectual property rights of software publishers as well as being instrumental in developing and specifying the internationally established ISO 19770-1 Software Asset Management standard. He’s passionate about delivering comprehensive IT solutions to organisations globally.

Fay Mercer joined Phoenix in 2013 and was the Operations Business Manager until being promoted to Director of Business Operations in March 2024.  

Fay is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations of the business and ensuring that everything runs smoothly. Fay has been involved in the launch of several new products and applications, managing projects dedicated to helping drive business success.   

Jonny entered the world of IT at the age of 17. After working in Corporate Sales for three years, Jonny moved to a more strategic role at Phoenix within the Business Development Team managing bids and vendor relationships. After building up the skills and knowledge to understand the relevant technologies that fit different sectors, Jonny became the Vendor Alliance Manager at Phoenix. 

Now Head of Alliances, Jonny and his team manage a portfolio of over 650 vendors. Jonny’s aim is to find the perfect balance between value and cutting-edge technology for Phoenix customers. 

Becky joined Phoenix in 2013, initially working in Sales and Bids roles. She soon discovered her passion for Microsoft Licensing and has been leading the practice since 2016. With her extensive experience in managing Enterprise Agreement contracts and customers’ licensing requirements, Becky has built one of the largest Microsoft Licensing Teams in the channel. This is a significant accomplishment for Phoenix, as it allows us to provide our customers with tailored and dedicated support from industry specialists, helping them navigate the challenges of Microsoft licensing. 

In 2022, Becky’s role expanded to include leading Phoenix’s regional strategy. She has been successful in strengthening our relationships with both Microsoft and customers in the North-West and North-East regions, expanding our available office space to these areas through the development of partnerships with customers in region. Becky’s goal is to replicate this success in other areas of the UK. 

Sam has worked in IT for 35 years, 21 of them at Phoenix Software. Her first, gap year, job was in IT sales at Trustmarque, the UK’s first software reseller. Having got a taste for the industry, she continued working at the firm part-time throughout her psychology degree at Nottingham University.  

After graduation, she became a channel manager at WordPerfect. After the software business was taken over by network firm Novell, Sam became its UK Channel Director at just 28. She later relocated to Yorkshire with her husband Nik, returning to Trustmarque, before joining Phoenix in 2003, becoming MD 11 years later. In her 10 years as Phoenix MD, Sam led the business to become one of the most respected and successful public sector IT resellers in the UK. 

In May 2024, Sam became the CEO of Bytes Technology Group, showing her commitment to the IT industry and empowering organisations with innovative IT solutions and managed services. 

Paul is Director of Group Finance for Bytes Technology Group PLC, Phoenix’s parent organisation.  

He started his career qualifying as a chartered accountant with PwC where he spent eight years, followed by six years working in senior finance roles at BT PLC and Bradford & Bingley, before joining Phoenix in 2004. Paul held the Phoenix finance director role for 17 years before taking on the group finance position in 2021. 

He remains a Director at Phoenix, and member of our Board and Executive Committee, continuing to support our finance team, senior leadership team and the business as a whole, as part of his overall Bytes Technology responsibilities, ensuring consistency of strategy, planning, accounting, policies, and controls across the group.