What We Did Next: From audit and consulting to Tech Fast 50 Leaders
Alumni Michael Bateman and Oli Gee, the CEO and CFO of Zenzero, on the rapid growth of their IT, cyber and data services company, and being placed 31st at Deloitte’s Technology Fast 50 Awards 2024.
1. Tell us about your roles and how you both became involved in Zenzero?
Michael: At the end of 2020, Oli was working with our previous PE investor to target businesses in the IT managed service sector. He helped the PE fund buy Zenzero and then flipped in as CFO. I joined a few months later. We’d previously worked together with Oli as an investor in the company I used to work for. Oli was on my board, and we’d worked on an acquisition. Once the timing was right, we got back together on the same side of the table.
2. What have you found most rewarding since starting your own business?
Michael: Watching our growth. We've transitioned from a small, regional company to servicing people from five geographies with over 650 employees. It's also incredibly rewarding to create career opportunities for people from all different backgrounds, giving them the ability to grow and develop alongside the company.
Oli: It’s immensely satisfying seeing the tangible signs of our growth. For example, our annual conference called Voyage used to be a handful of people gathering in a small meeting room. Two years later, it’s become a large-scale, professionally produced event for hundreds of people.
3. Zenzero is a 2024 Deloitte Tech Fast 50 winner, ranking 31. What are the key factors that have driven your rapid transformation and growth?
Michael: We’ve been absolutely focussed on growth and being the best version of this business we can be. We drive transformation with our 3-step strategy of getting close, getting simple and getting ahead. This means building close relationships with our customers, simplifying their technology environments, and staying ahead of the curve with continuous innovation.
Oli: We’ve benefitted from having a clear vision of what we wanted to achieve from the start, always striving for improvement and challenging ourselves. One thing we need to get better at is celebrating our successes!
4. How are you integrating AI into your business, and how will it change the way you work?
Michael: We approach AI integration from two perspectives: how we guide our customers in adopting it, and how we leverage it internally.
For our customers, it's about meeting their needs and making sure the data used is trusted and secure, and the results can be verified. It’s not about technology you can turn on, it’s about understanding why you want to use it, analysing the data you have or don’t have access to, and mitigating the risk and compliance around usage.
Oli: Internally, we're using AI to streamline our operations and empower our workforce. We've trained a proprietary AI model on our compliance documentation, enabling employees to quickly access reliable information. More transformatively, we're implementing AI agents through platforms like Microsoft Copilot and Stack. These agents automate tasks, freeing up our technologists so they can do their jobs faster, better and smarter.
5. What learnings or influences did your time at Deloitte have on your career and professional networks? Is there a particular nugget or learning from Deloitte you’d like to share which has impacted on your career?
Oli: The graduate programme taught me valuable foundation skills that I’ve used throughout my career. I worked with highly talented individuals who showed me what good looks like, and how to deliver high quality work. The biggest takeaway was the understanding that we’re capable of achieving far more than we initially think.
Michael: I moved from the Civil Service Fast Track scheme to a consulting role at Deloitte. I joined a small team and really felt we were making an impact, helping a public sector organisation achieve and make progress as a result of our work. I have incredibly fond memories of my time, and learned valuable skills in presenting data and creating solutions for our clients.
6. How have you stayed connected to the firm and/or with former colleagues?
Michael: I’m a big fan of Paul Lee’s research on the TMT sector and like to hear to his presentations to alumni on digital consumer trends and technology predictions. As we’re in the technology business too, I find his cross-sector view of the industry really interesting.
Oli: I’ve kept up friendships with people I met on the graduate scheme, and I also connected with many Deloitte alumni when I worked in Private Equity.
Read more Deloitte alumni profiles:
Jamie Gill, Fashion and Luxury CEO, on increasing diversity in the industry
Nneka Orji, Senior Director in Asset and Weath Management, on the power of career sponsorship
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