Janet Gibbons

Director of partner business and development, Microsoft

Career so far I worked for the AA, Digital Equipment Corporation and more recently 18 years at Microsoft UK.

What was your first job and were you any good at it? I had a Saturday job in Boots - but rather than sit on the tills I was allocated to the baby department and spent the entire day running back and forth to the stockroom replenishing the shelves with nappies.

Who was your top teenage pin-up? David Cassidy.

My colleagues won't know this about me but... I was really into punk rock music in my youth and went to every Clash gig.

What is your favourite snack? Salted crisps - in fact anything salty.

What has been your career high point to date? I get an enormous buzz whenever I get to stand on stage and talk to partners about what opportunities lie ahead of us all.

Has 2013 been good, bad or ugly? It has been a good year. It's not over yet, but business sentiment is starting to pick up which is great to see.

What do you say when asked at a party what you do for a living? I work for Microsoft but please don't ask me anything technical.

If I wasn't working in the channel I would probably be... operations manager at Heathrow Airport; I like a fast pace and not knowing what the day will bring.

What will be the channel's biggest challenge in 2014? Keeping up with the pace of change in our industry right now.