01732 759725 20 Dunstan, Document Solutions Product Manager most recently joining the family. PITR: What was your first job? JB: My first real job was at Churchill Insurance. I only worked there for six months as I didn’t like the seven week rolling shifts and weekends, however the telephone-based training set me up for a life in sales without doubt. Oh yes yes yes… PITR: What has been the high point of the decade? JB: I can’t pick just one. It is a combination of winning Print Hardware Distributor of the Year for the second time in 2025 and our team of over 20 people now in Snetterton. I’m so proud of them and what they continue to achieve. PITR: And the low point? JB: Samsung withdrawing from the print market, they were a significant part of our business at the time. It was kind of bittersweet as it proved my decision to leave Samsung was the right one, but equally, we had a big gap to fill. A credit to Theresa Downes and the team for their vision and innovation that we did and we have never been stronger! PITR: What (or who) has had the greatest impact in the sector in the last 10 years? JB: For us, I would say the transition of vendors’ former direct model into distribution. The benefits to the customer and the vendor are clear, we welcome more opportunities to support partners here. PITR: If you could change one thing about the last decade, what would it be? JB: Nothing. PITR: What has been your proudest moment of the past 10 years? JB: To be recognised externally as the market‑leading no HP value-added print distributor in the UK. PITR: Sum up the decade in three words. JB: Fun. Fulfilling. Proud. become such a significant part of my life and career. I was then asked to be part of the new e-tail sales team at Midwich where I worked with key customers such as Printerland and Printerbase along with all the large IT partners we work with today. Following account manager and senior account manager roles, I became print sales manager where I managed our print-centric customers along with our print specialist sales team. During this time, we entered the (new at the time) OA space, starting with Samsung before Lexmark and OKI entered. My role was to travel the country, signing up dealers to these programmes alongside our vendor account managers. Then in 2009, I stepped away from pure print to manage the key accounts team. I always had an ambition to work for a vendor and the draw of Samsung and its incredible management team assembled under Mark Ash’s leadership with Dave Thompson, Emma Boughton and Vicky Nevitt, was strong, so I joined them in 2012. These remain some of my happiest working memories. However, ultimately, I felt that I was better suited to distribution and after almost two years at Samsung, I had the opportunity to join Exertis. It is hard to believe that I have spent over a decade with my Exertis family but I can honestly say that I had a plan and I stuck to it. I felt that the market desperately needed another quality value-added print distributor, and that Exertis was absolutely the right platform to bring that to life. 8.5 years ago, we recruited Al Coyne, John Bourne and Theresa Downes. They led the charge in the business transformation in setting up the OA business in addition with streamlining the B2B and retail presence that was already in place. I don’t want to give away all our secrets, but I am proud of the business we have created holding the number one market share position with all of the vendors that we represent. Print is an area we continue to invest in with recent appointments of Michelle Lawton, Account Director and Gary PrintIT Reseller (PITR): You’ve been working in the print and IT industry for more than ten years. What led you to enter the sector? Jamie Brothwell (JB): Well, it is more like two decades and counting, as the draw of print (excuse the pun) keeps pulling me back. I love it! Genuinely. I can’t explain the wonderful nature and sense of community I get from the print industry, something that captivated me again at the 2024 PrintIT Awards. It was so good to see so many familiar and wonderful faces. Al Coyne my now Commercial Director, had started at Midwich in 2001 and he introduced me to Midwich in 2002. My first job was in the Fast Response team, which was the feeder sales team and in 2003, I moved into the role of Samsung Business Development Executive which was the funded head role. I loved being part of the Samsung journey, the innovation, the ambition and the drive. Little did I know it would Jamie Brothwell, Managing Director, Exertis Business shares her experiences over the past decade, what she’s learned, and the highs and the lows of our unique and challenging industry A decade in print Jamie Brothwell INTERVIEW
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