Garry Partington: ‘Brush with death transformed our business’

Garry Partington is the son of a Rochdale butcher, who went on to become the CEO of Manchester-based consultancy Apadmi, which will turn over an estimated £40m next year

The self-confessed tech geek taught himself how to code at the age of 10 and worked three jobs in order to buy his dream computer.

He revealed how a brush with death was the catalyst for turning Apadmi from a lifestyle business into one with global aspirations.

When he was made redundant in 2009 he launched Apadmi with three friends.

However, when staff numbers reached 70 and turnover £2.5m, Partington realised Apadmi had become a lifestyle business until a near life-death experience involving his co-founder Howard Simms changed everything.

It was at this point that the founders came up with their Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG) from Jim Collins’ boo ...