Adam Cathcart: AI can transform your business… or destroy your brand overnight if you get it wrong.

In this Channel Chat episode, Marc Sumner sits down with Adam Cathcart, MD of Onecom Partners, to unpack his journey from aspiring professional ice hockey player to leading one of the UK’s biggest partner-only telecoms channels.

They get into:

How a shoulder injury, a £6–7m ice rink and a blunt consultant pushed Adam into sales

Climbing from B2B mobile rep at Genesis to board, M&A and floating Outsourcery on AIM

Building and selling Lapdog, running Nine Group and then being acquired by Onecom

How Onecom Partners really works: ring-fenced channel, zero drama on channel conflict, and using an 850-person engine to back partners

The brutal reality of WLR switch-off and how partners can actually transition legacy estates

Why comms players and IT MSPs are colliding and where the real opportunities sit

Cyber and dark web monitoring as “sexy telco” and how partners are leading with it

The truth about AI in telecoms: where it works, where it wrecks brands, and why you need baby steps

Why Adam is obsessed with hiring grads and early-career talent into the channel

Office vs remote for young people and why being visible still wins promotions

The Gloucester office story: free breakfast & lunch, culture, and pulling M&A together

Why Vodafone is his “one to watch” for 2026

If you’re a telco, IT reseller, MSP or distributor trying to work out where the channel is really heading and how to build a modern partner business – this one’s worth your time.