Paul Shannon

clock • 1 min read

What has been your personal highlight of 2020?

Liverpool being crowned Premier League Champions after 30 years of waiting.

Which three celebrities would you invite to a Zoom party?

Dave Chappelle - my favourite current comedian; Bill Hicks - my favourite comedian of all time; and Deirdre Rachid - just to add a different angle and possibly some new material for me, Dave, and Bill.

What has been your guiltiest lockdown pleasure?

White wine and quizzes.

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

Lord Sumption. He has had the courage to rubbish everything about the coronavirus actions the government has taken and explain that dying should be our choice and protecting death should not be put above living life.

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

WhatsApp - memes, videos and nonsense chat got me through the darkest days.

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

Boris Johnson - I'd use that week to actually show some solid leadership and make some decisions that aren't pandering and weak.

Do you miss face-to-face events?

I miss face-to-face anything. Sustained, meaningful social interaction is the key differentiator of primates and most other animals, without which we will become more mean-spirited and less generous with our time and love for each other.

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

I'm hopeful that the channel will realise that "solve not sell" is the most important mantra for working with customers. If we help them solve problems we are relevant, if we just sell them what we think they should need then we are moribund.

You may also like
ANS launches reseller programme for its cloud services

Reseller

The group claims its eCloud platform is the only sovereign accredited cloud platform available in the channel

clock 17 July 2023 • 2 min read
Colin Bain joins ANS Group as new COO

Reseller

Bain’s appointment is part of a strengthening strategy to fuel the next “phase of growth”

clock 29 March 2023 • 2 min read
ANS closes acquisition on Microsoft partner Preact

Finance and M&A

ANS said the buy will help it grow in the Microsoft business applications space

clock 03 January 2023 • 1 min read

Sign up to our newsletter

The best news, stories, features and photos from the day in one perfectly formed email.

More on People

Channel veteran Smee pops up as CEO of cloud analysis vendor

Channel veteran Smee pops up as CEO of cloud analysis vendor

Grahame Smee, best known for his serial M&A success in the security distribution space, is looking to work with channel partners after taking the reins at Opexx Ltd

Sara Yirrell
clock 11 January 2024 • 2 min read
Former UKFast founder and CEO found guilty of rape in Manchester court

Former UKFast founder and CEO found guilty of rape in Manchester court

Following allegations of raping two women, Lawrence Jones was found guilty in court today

Andrea Gaini
clock 23 November 2023 • 1 min read
Women in Tech Festival: Keynote speaker, Rupal Patel, on addressing the visibility gap

Women in Tech Festival: Keynote speaker, Rupal Patel, on addressing the visibility gap

For ex-intelligence analyst, Rupal Patel, the visibility gap for women in tech is as much a systemic issue as it is an individual one

CRN
clock 19 September 2023 • 3 min read

Highlights

Staff & Salaries 2022

Staff & Salaries 2022

A snapshot of pay and headcount trends in the UK channel

Doug Woodburn
clock 09 March 2022 • 1 min read
Midwich CEO on Nimans acquisition, 2021 results and return to pre-pandemic levels

Midwich CEO on Nimans acquisition, 2021 results and return to pre-pandemic levels

Stephen Fenby talks to CRN after Midwich’s 2021 results in which profitability exceeded pre-pandemic levels

Josh Budd
clock 08 March 2022 • 3 min read
4 more vendors suspend sales in Russia following Ukraine invasion

4 more vendors suspend sales in Russia following Ukraine invasion

IBM and Microsoft are among a number of vendors which have also announced that they will halt sales in Russia following the invasion of Ukraine.

clock 08 March 2022 • 3 min read