9 celebrities CRN A-listers would most like to invite to a Zoom party
We asked 132 UK channel bigwigs who they'd invite to their fantasy Zoom party, and the results are in...
We've all become Zoom (other platforms available) aficionados this year, with the number of Brits using the videoconferencing platform rocketing from 659,000 in January to 13 million in April.
But which three celebrities - dead or alive - would be on your invite list if you were tasked with throwing a Zoom party?
Would you opt for verbal sparring session with the greatest Renaissance thinkers, or just crack open the wine for an evening of banter with Russell Howard or Sarah Millican?
As part of the CRN A-list 2021, in association with Agilitas, we put this very question to 132 top channel executives, and the results are in.
Read the A-list in full here, and the individual profiles here.
Here we count down their top nine most popular choices, from last to first place.
Celebrity: Kylie Minogue
Rank: 9
Percentage of A-listers who nominated her: 3%
They include: Andy Wright, XMA, Mark Johnson, NTT Ltd, Rob May, Ramsac
"Kylie Minogue, Robbie Williams, Lionel Richie - they should get the party going," - Sam Mudd, Phoenix Software
Celebrity: Michelle Obama
Rank: 8
Percentage of A-listers who nominated her: 4%
They include: John Baskerville, RM, Angela Whitty, Cisco, Tim Griffin, DCC Technology
"If I had a choice, I wouldn't be having a Zoom party - it's a bit of a contradiction in terms. But I would love a chance to talk to Michelle Obama, Brene Brown and Jay Shetty. You can see I have channelled my inner monk in lockdown," - Hayley Roberts, Distology
Celebrity: Freddie Flintoff
Rank: 7
Percentage of A-listers who nominated him: 4%
They include: Roger Harry, Circle IT, Glenn Robertson, Purechannels, Andy Wright, XMA
"Having watched a hero of mine Freddie Flintoff show his true mettle in the last few weeks by openly talking about his mental health journey he has to be head of my Zoom table. To lighten the mood his fellow Top Gear mate Paddy McGuiness, and to balance the Yorkshire/Lancashire party ratio I would invite honorary Yorkshireman and Leeds United manager Marcelo Bielsa to talk about coaching for performance and his PowerPoint presentation skills," - Howard Hall, DTP
Celebrity: Ricky Gervais
Rank: 6
Percentage of A-listers who nominated him: 4%
They include: Jeanette Forbes, PCC Group, Mark Forster, Comms-care, Guy Hockin, Utilize PLC
"PG Wodehouse, Ricky Gervais and Christopher Hitchens - that would allow me to sit back and enjoy the strong opinions from three excellent conversationalists who are bright, articulate and incredibly amusing," - Dave Stevinson, QBS
See who made the top five on the following page...
9 celebrities CRN A-listers would most like to invite to a Zoom party
We asked 132 UK channel bigwigs who they'd invite to their fantasy Zoom party, and the results are in...
Celebrity: Boris Johnson
Rank: 5
Percentage of A-listers who nominated him: 6%
They include: Roger Whittle, Jigsaw24, Joel Berwitz, boxxe, Pam Blanchard, ICA, Kieran O'Connor, Total
"Well it would be Teams… and it would be Boris Johnson, Donald Trump and Jacinda Ardern. I would want to discuss how they have managed the role of running a country during a crisis. I think we would receive quite the mix of responses and approaches," - James Chadwick, Microsoft
Celebrity: Jürgen Klopp
Rank: 4
Percentage of A-listers who nominated him: 8%
They include: Julie O'Hara, Computacenter, Dan Waters, Arrow, Graeme Watt, Softcat, Marc Chang, Block Solutions
"As a crazy Liverpool fan it would have to be Jürgen Klopp, Jordan Henderson and Mo Salah. What a year it has been, so to hear their stories and experience would be a treat indeed," - Ben Boswell D|OPS Digital
Celebrity: Donald Trump
Rank: 3
Percentage of A-listers who nominated him: 8%
They include: Helen Slinger, BT, Rafi Razzak, Centerprise, Paul Cubbage, Target Components, Dino Cooper, Viadex
"Trump, Piers Morgan and Boris. What a hoot that would be! The subjects would be honesty and how to help people..." - Graham Jones, Exclusive Networks
Celebrity: Elon Musk
Rank: 2
Percentage of A-listers who nominated him: 8%
They include: Simone Hindmarch, Commercial, Darren Hedley, Insight, Kelvin Kirby, Technology Associates
"Elon Musk, David Blaine and Martin Johnson. They're notoriously eccentric and engaging people who excel in areas I find interesting and they have a little bit of unpredictability about them that would make the party memorable," Ian Turbull, Pentesec
Find out who A-listers' top Zoom celebrity guest is on following page...
9 celebrities CRN A-listers would most like to invite to a Zoom party
We asked 132 UK channel bigwigs who they'd invite to their fantasy Zoom party, and the results are in...
Celebrity: David Attenborough
Rank: 1
Percentage of A-listers who nominated him: 10%
They include: Alex Louth, Logicalis, Margaret Totten, Akari Solutions, Alex Phillips, Northamber, Chris Roche, Celerity
"I'll take a risk and go with two ageing, (but very interesting and entertaining) national treasures and hope I don't jinx anything before this article is published! Sir David Attenborough and Prince Phillip. Then for the third I would choose Keanu Reeves because by all accounts he's the loveliest and kindest person you could meet so I'd like to find out for myself, and if he's lovely but dull I'm sure Prince Phillip will let him know!," - Stefni Oliver, Daisy Corporate Services