Mark is the MD of ViewSonic Europe, having joined the company in 2012. He has a strong history in technology, having previously worked at HP, Netpower, Sony, Lenovo and Promethean. Mark aims to have the European business compete with ViewSonic’s turnover in the USA – when he took over, the European market for the company was only about a third of the size of its US business.
1. What do you consider are the five most important market developments in the last five years?
I studied IT over 25 years ago so I tend to look at the changes between technology as I knew it then and what we have now. Fundamentally it can be characterised that the mobile phones my daughters have today provide more performance, more connectivity, better graphics, are easier to use, and are much smaller than the computers I learnt to program on – although at the time, they were state of the art.
2. What will be the five hot topics over the next five years?
At ViewSonic we think about a couple of things.
a. PC growth is slowing and mobile devices are growing, especially mobile phones. The PC’s first display is changing to mobile devices’ second display. ViewSonic is looking at how to make our displays connect to mobile devices, not just PCs. Examples are desktop displays with MHL, to connect to tablets and mobile phones; or projectors with Advanced Connect technology, which means that they can present wirelessly from a mobile phone.
b. Applications and data move to the cloud. Smart displays connect directly to the cloud rather than via a PC. Examples of this are thin and zero client displays that replace commercial PCs, and large-format displays with integrated media players that display content directly from the cloud.
3. What are the five most interesting upcoming technology developments that you can see?
Sorry, I haven’t used five points here! I’m looking forward to:
1. Driverless vehicles;
2. Anything to do with renewable energy;
3. Space travel or tourism; and
4. Cures for incurable diseases, like cancer.
There are lots of other interesting things but those are the ones that interest me and popped into my head when I read the question.
4. What are five things you/your company stand for?
The three Gouldian finches that form the ViewSonic logo characterise the attributes we want people to associate with our company: superior quality; vibrant colours; appealing warmth and friendliness.
5. What are the five most important things or people in your life?
My family, especially my daughters;
Friends and people I work with (I like to think that there’s an overlap!);
Sport and staying fit and healthy;
The environment and the world we live in; and
My job and work.
