Paul Shannon

Chief executive, ANS Group

What was your dream career as a child?

A music journalist. There is nothing I love more in the world than music (apart from friends and family, obviously). Mainly tech house, 90s hip-hop, outlaw country and soul music. I'm getting excited just typing about it.

What has been your personal highlight of 2019?

Integrating development into our growing digital business at ANS.

Which famous person deserves a (gentle) slap?

David Cameron for nonchalantly sending us into such a critically important decision for our country.

What two things (apart from family) would you grab if your house was on fire?

Nothing really. I don't really own that much ‘stuff'; everything that's important to me is related to people and all my music is now stored on music services. All the ‘stuff' I do have can be easily replaced.

Which of your 2019 predictions have come to pass?

That ANS would sell our first IoT solutions and make IoT very real indeed.

What TV show have you binge watched this year?

Gomorrah. An incredible Italian mafia drama set in Naples. An absolute must see.

How has 2019 been from a business perspective?

Amazing. We've got so many new people in ANS over the last couple of years, working on new and exciting technologies and solutions. ANS is even more vibrant than ever.

What annoys you most about your commute?

The M62 is an absolute disgrace. Getting to Manchester at peak time can sometimes take me as long as it takes me to get to London on the train. Music makes any journey better though, so I try not to get too annoyed.

If you could witness one past event, what would it be?

Easy. Woodstock 1969.