Triton Consulting is excited to share that five of our team members have been recognised as IBM Champions for Data and AI for 2026.
The IBM Champion program is a global initiative that recognises exceptional individuals who are driving meaningful impact across the tech community. IBM Champions are experts in IBM technologies who go above and beyond—sharing their knowledge, mentoring others, and helping shape the future of data and AI.
Becoming an IBM Champion means joining a worldwide network of highly skilled, passionate professionals. Champions gain enhanced visibility, industry recognition, and opportunities to expand their influence. The program also offers exclusive benefits, including access to advanced development resources and invitations to major IBM conferences and events.
The IBM Champion community continues to inspire innovation and collaboration and we are proud to be part of this worldwide network of professionals.
How Do Customers Benefit?
Having five IBM Champions means our customers gain direct access to some of the most knowledgeable and experienced experts in the industry. Their deep understanding of IBM technologies allows us to deliver the latest technical insights and smarter, more effective solutions to address your business challenges.
Our IBM Champions work closely with IBM teams, giving our clients early visibility into new developments, product enhancements, and industry best practices. This close collaboration ensures you benefit from cutting‑edge innovation as soon as it becomes available—helping your organisation stay ahead of the curve and make more confident technology decisions.
Meet Our IBM Champions
Our five new IBM Champions for 2026: Rob Gould, Damir Wilder, Mark Gillis, Iqbal Goralwalla and Gareth Copplestone-Jones.
Rob Gould
When he’s not busy making Star Wars Lego or playing the Euphonium for his local Brass Band. Rob can be found working with large customers in finance and retail both in the UK and globally.
Skills include: Data Strategy and Architecture, Cloud Migrations, and System Performance and Tuning.
Damir Wilder
An avid climber who spends his free time scaling heights when he’s not working on client projects or sharing his knowledge of Db2 Pacemaker, HADR and AWS to the technical community.
Skills include: Problem Determination, Cloud Migrations, Db2 Hybrid HADR Clusters, Db2 LUW Administration and Performance Tuning.
Mark Gillis
Our one and only kilt-wearing, karate-kicking Db2 expert.
With over 30 years of experience in IT (he started at a very young age 😉), Mark has been using Db2 for LUW for more than 20 years. In 2022 Mark was named an IBM Gold Consultant and has been an IBM Champion since 2015.
Skills include: AWS RDS, PostgreSQL, Database Design, Jupyter Notebooks and more.
Find out more about Mark and listen to his latest podcast.
Iqbal Goralwalla
Our resident cake lover and Head of Database Services at Triton Consulting.
Iqbal is an IBM Gold Consultant with extensive project support and technical liaison experience within Db2 on LUW environments.
Skills include: Data Strategy and Architecture, HADR, Db2 pureScale and Db2 Education.
Read more about Iqbal and his pureScale updates.
Gareth Copplestone-Jones
A music lover, particularly fond of the 70s, which is evident in his vibrant and unique shirts.
Gareth has a broad and varied experience as a DBA, Systems Programmer, and member of the Db2 for z/OS Development SWAT Team for over 12 years. He is now the Head of Infrastructure Services at Triton Consulting.
Skills include: Configuring Db2 for Resilience and High Availability, Db2 Recovery, Problem Determination, IBM and ISV Db2 Toolsets and more…
Find out about Gareth and Triton’s ZMARS service.