A new Dawn

Dawn's boyfriend has definitely spoilt the market for the rest of us. Bernard made sure that our new Research Director's first day was greeted with balloons, chocolates (Ferrero Rocher, no less) and flowers.

Other than showing up our Neanderthal ways, Dawn has been brought on board to manage Alphabet's burgeoning events business - specifically to provide a bridge between our government user community, and the many solutions providers we work with.

She's a very capable lady, having joined us from INSEAD where she was in charge of their executive programmes - and before that she was the Conference Director of IQPC's Government Practice, in Australia and then Singapore.

Frankly I'm chuffed to bits to have someone else to go off on obscure conversational tangents with on slow Wednesday afternoons, and I'm looking forward to her helping us out with next week's Government Technology Summit in Phuket as well.

As if any proof of her organisational skills were required, within minutes of her arrival at Alphabet Towers she had neatly untangled and then tied up all the various computer and telephone cables in her vicinity. What a woman!