Natalie Pilgrim

What has been your personal highlight of 2020

Without a doubt the birth of my son, Arthur in April. It's the most wonderful, rewarding, entertaining and exhausting job ever.

Which three celebrities would you invite to a Zoom party?

Michelle Obama, Chrissy Teigen and Rosie Ramsey. All successful, funny, sometimes outrageous mums who I think would be really fun and interesting to hang out with. I'd also like learn some tips from them about how to juggle motherhood with a successful career.

What has been your guiltiest lockdown pleasure?

While I'm on maternity leave my guilty pleasure has been watching a reality show called Below Deck. It's funny, cringy, endearing and annoying to watch and I really enjoy it to switch off to when I get some time to sit down!

Which tech figurehead has inspired you most this year and why ?

Aside from our own CEO Enrique Lores, Satya Nadella is an inspiring leader. I admire how he balances the continued success of the global giant with supporting the economy globally, through initiatives such as helping over 10 million job seekers globally gain new digital skills since COVID struck.

What piece of technology, or app, have you not been able to do without during the pandemic?

For all the Zoom catch-ups during lockdown, (and showing our new son to family and friends who weren't able to visit) we've really enjoyed using the Jabra 710 speaker which has fantastic sound quality for calls, and works brilliantly with our HP Dragonfly Laptop.

Do you miss face-to-face events?

So much! I used to be teased that I would always be at every single industry event going, but I absolutely love to be out meeting up with friends/colleagues/partners and experiencing new people and places and I really miss it.

How will Covid leave its mark on the way the channel operates long term?

The increased flexibility that remote working has brought to the channel during the pandemic has meant that people are able to better balance working and home life.

I believe one of the positives to come out of this is that parents have been able to spend more time with their families, while also carving out successful careers and maximising channel opportunities for customers.