Blog it Forward – Henry Banks

Hi,

I’m Henry, aka H, or Banksy.

Firstly, thanks to my old mate Jim Rapp for telling me about Blog It Forward (BIF), and giving me the opportunity to introduce myself to SCN.

My role at SAP:

I am a senior analytics specialist, working for the Strategic Customer Engagements (SCE) team, as part of the Products & Innovation (P&I) department.

My strength was the tradiional BusinessObjects BI portfolio.  I’ve lived through most of the mergers (since 2005)! My first IT jobs (2000-2005) were with SAP Business Warehouse (BW) & APO, then CRM.

More recently, I’ve been championing and helping evangelize about the Lumira Suite. I also work in the Predictive Analytics area. All on HANA where  possible, of course.

My role includes working on: customer adoption (demos & coaching), regional implementation (training & onsite), and enablement (online, classroom,  events). Also, I help with pre-sales support (proof of concepts).

I’ve worked with lots of you guys on SCN (I mean customers!) during the participation/coordination of product Betas, Solution validations, Customer evaluations, & Ramp ups. And before that, AGS Support!

Something about me:

I currently live in Richmond, London close to our Feltham and Maidenhead SAP offices here in England, United Kingdom.

I’m an English-Irish Londoner (both my parents are from the ‘famous’ Brixton), but I grew up near Nice, France until the age off 11.

When I moved to the UK, I discovered the sport of Rugby Union. (here pictured with the big hair in 1990!) I also competed in Basketball and Swimming, and this was a big part of my life until my late 20s. Sadly, bad knees and neck injuries soon saw to that!

These days, I’m a total petrol head (Gear-head in the US?) and have recently, against popular wisdom, bought a French ‘hot hatch’ sports car (Clio RS), which (whilst also delivering great thrills) has a tendency to break down! 😐   (that’ll be the blue car then…)

Being English, I’m addicted to cups of tea. And this has to be done properly. In a pot. Preferably with biscuits alongside. (Not cookies, whatever they are) 😉

I’m also a cycling nut (MTB, SS, Roadie etc.) –  I’ve a push-bike for all occasions. This is my usual steed (brand: Genesis), bought through the UK’s “cycle to work” scheme.

And I love to hit the great outdoors (esp. camping/ hiking) as much as possible. Family in tow of course!  This is taken outside the Henry Moore museum near Leeds. (Make sure to stop by the Barbara Hepworth museum in Wakefield too if you’re near!)

Here in the UK that means permanently overcast skies, and a frequent chance of rain. Freezing cold rain. But we mustn’t complain!

Just look how nice my roses came up last year!  (I’m a keen gardener)

I’m also quite partial to food fairs and art shows – which is convenient, because my Mum is a landscape painter and lives in the county of Herefordshire (which is the “fruit bowl” of England). This means exposure to strange beverages such as unpasteurised, unfiltered, fermented apple juice called Cider. To be enjoyed in moderation!

I’m quite well travelled (I have a particular affinity with India) but am a true European at heart. Quite simply France, Italy or Spain ‘for the win’.  My dad lives in southern Spain, near Cartagena, which is where I am pictured here with my sister on hols :

But I always return to “good old Blighty”, because of our respect for traditions, positive attitudes and open minds. Oh, and our humour.  I mean, how can you not love these freaks?!  (These are English ‘Morris Dancing” men, an old pagan way of celebrating/ welcoming the season)

Now for those BOF questions!

• My superpower would have to something like Wolverine’s “adamantium” regenerative bones. That sure would help when I come off my bike!

• For ice-cream, it would have to be Apple sorbet and Calvados brandy. Because it’s my favourite, plus it relates back to the apple/cider theme, and my Godparents live in Basse-Normandie – where Calvados is from!

• If I was your chef, I’d cook you Lambs liver and Bacon (sorry veggies, squeamers, and non-pork eaters) with a24-hour reduction Oxtail and onion gravy. Potato mash on the side. Because when it’s done right, there’s nothing else like it.

This is fun! Thanks for reading.

To keep the thread alive, I’m going to call on my old colleague Simone Caneparo 🙂

Cheers,

H