Paul Cubbage
What has been your personal highlight of 2020?
We've continued to set all kinds of records going into 2020, which is great for the team and a reflection of the hard work they've put in over the last couple of years - and amazing given so many are homeworking for the first time. The highlight is probably setting a new record month in March that seemed unbeatable, then beating it within a few months.
Which three celebrities would you invite to a Zoom party?
The three wise monkeys would work well on a Zoom call.
What has been your guiltiest lockdown pleasure?
Nothing exciting, but like most of the country home drinking and box sets.
Which tech figurehead has inspired you most this year, and why?
My niece is a nurse in a COVID ward. She has sores from wearing PPE for hours at a time. Yet some people complain about briefly having to wear a small mask in shops. Not a tech figurehead, but for inspiration this year, we should look at those in the COVID front line.
What piece of technology, or app, have you not been able to do without during the pandemic?
The laptop (as usual), streaming services … and the fridge.
If you could be anyone else for a week, who would you be and what would you do?
Donald Trump. I'd say and do only rational things just to see the reaction.
Do you miss face-to-face events?
Absolutely. We recently passed what would have been the date for this year's Target Open Day. It really brought home that we should have been having a drink and catch-up with our customers. I'm looking forward to being able to do it again and generally get out and about visiting customers.
How will COVID leave its mark on the way the channel operates long term?
More homeworking, which has already made it easier to take on new staff without worrying about where to fit everyone in. And there's a much bigger IT footprint now than there was pre-lockdown, which is great for longer-term demand for our customers and for us.