Sarah Shields
What has been your personal highlight of 2020?
The most amazing part of working from home during 2020 has been the fact I get to be a part of dinner, bath time and bedtime every night. I have also been able to sleep in my own bed every night and not endure sleeping on a plane or in a hotel room with an uncomfortable bed.
Which three celebrities would you invite to a Zoom party?
Trinny Woodall, David Tennant and Romesh Ranganathan.
What has been your guiltiest lockdown pleasure?
5pm drinkies! Every night at 5pm, I have either a gin and tonic or a pornstar martini. The joys of working in a CET region is a UK 5pm is 6pm in Europe so this is perfectly acceptable.
Which tech figurehead has inspired you most this year, and why?
Michael Dell, obviously. We nailed this "WFH" initiative 10 years ago - and I've been a remote worker for 15 years now. The transition has been completely seamless and the vision of Michael Dell has absolutely paved the way for digital transformation; we have been ready for this. (OK, maybe different circumstances if we had the choice).
And we've been able to help customers around the world. Dell's supply chain stood the tests of the pandemic and our teams have been serving customers throughout - without any downtime.
What piece of technology, or app, have you not been able to do without during the pandemic?
My EE Unlimited data mobile phone package. Tech isn't an issue in our house but broadband bandwidth is a constant struggle. 2 x VPNs, 2 x MS Teams online lessons and Netflix all streaming at once is not a great experience if we need to share broadband!
If you could be anyone else for a week, who would you be and what would you do?
I'd be a frontline health worker. I think the NHS has been incredible and the frontline health care workers are our true super heros. If I could take a week in their shoes to give them a week off, that would be an amazing thing to do.
Do you miss face-to-face events?
Yes and no. I am a people person and I love meeting my friends, family, colleagues, partners and new faces. I miss the social interaction and I miss the social chatter that comes with a face to face meeting. However, I've loved reconnecting with my family and it's a hard juggle to give up being at home every night for dinner, bedtime and bathtime to get back on a plane and pick up where I left off back in March… It will happen of course, but I will miss my kids MORE than I miss face to face.
How will COVID leave its mark on the way the channel operates long term?
The channel is resilient and robust and most of us have thrived during these times. Now is the time to capitalise on a new way of working and expand and leverage the new level of awareness of diversity and inclusion. It's a new chapter and we can redefine who we all are.