What has been your personal highlight of 2020?
Becoming a grandfather. Despite all the gloom and Zoom, worries about work/ targets and so on, what a fabulous way to see what is really important -new life and family.
Which three celebrities would you invite to a Zoom party?
Trump, Piers Morgan and Boris. What a hoot that would be! The subjects would be honesty and how to help people.
What has been your guiltiest lockdown pleasure?
Golf lessons. As soon as the ban was lifted, and as I have a course with a great pro a mile behind my house, I was out there weekly for my 30 minutes. It was more than a lesson, more like therapy and being able to chat to a human about stuff other than work. And it's working!
Which tech figurehead has inspired you most this year, and why?
I can't say any one of the usual suspects has risen to the top when it comes to helping out the world during and after the crisis. I think Bill Gates probably leads the way in both speaking smart common sense, and actually doing things about practically helping.
What piece of technology, or app, have you not been able to do without during the pandemic?
It depends whether it's for work or personal use. Work unfortunately is my ‘Big Mac' at home. The larger screen means more people fit in the Zoom window. For personal use, Amazon Prime. I've been working through all 196 episodes and more of The X-Files from the start.
If you could be anyone else for a week, who would you be and what would you do?
Someone like Jeff Bezos, laterally trying to see how I could spend all my money in a week in the best way to help humanity - that would be fun.
Do you miss face-to-face events?
Boy, yes. Distribution is primarily about people, trust, relationships etc. We need to see people, share stories, do things with them to maintain that relationship.
How will COVID leave its mark on the way the channel operates long term?
It has made us think hard about how we operate at all levels. We are now more flexible about the way our team works, and we trust them all to get on with it, even when theyre not physically in the office. Also working out when to meet and when to use video will be the ongoing change.
