Phil Race

What has been your personal highlight of 2020?

I managed to escape to Cornwall just after lockdown eased, and we went kayaking on the Fowey estuary. I got to see a kingfisher skimming above the water, magical!

Which three celebrities would you invite to a Zoom party?

Michael Sheen (he was great in a lockdown double act with David Tennant), Sophie Ellis-Bexter for her kitchen disco and Mary Berry for a bake-off teach-in!

What has been your guiltiest lockdown pleasure?

Cycling the Chilterns during lunchtime in the great weather. I'd block out a couple of hours and escape.

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

I honestly can't think of anyone specific.

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

I've upgraded my entire home set-up, with a new keyboard and RSI-prevention mouse but my big winner is a large Samsung curved monitor. I reasoned that my entire world of work is viewed through a screen so I might as well make it a big one!

If you could be anyone else for a week, who would you be and what would you do?

I'd be either Banksy or John Motson. I love art (I have an Art O-Level to my name) and Banksy has done a couple of great lockdown surprises on a London Underground train and a hospital. I am also a big Liverpool fan, so to get to see a couple of matches live would be great.

Do you miss face-to-face events?

Absolutely. On a personal level we generate energy, ideas and personal networks from face-to-face interactions, which is both uplifting and challenging.

On a corporate level, generating opportunities with new customers requires events, presentations, workshops and so on. which I know our sales teams are missing immensely.

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

I am hoping that forever more the subject of IT won't be relegated to ‘any other business' on a board agenda, with all that this entails in terms of funding, attention to security and respect for everyone who plays a part in keeping the IT world moving.