We are going through a period of wild experimentation with so many working from home and presenting/conversing over Zoom, ON24, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet and other platforms. I like to ask folks about their virtual backgrounds and related fun facts.
I interviewed Jason Blessing, CEO of Model N and he is a drone photographer in his spare time. He told me his background is of the west span of the Bay Bridge, shot on his Mavic 2 Pro launched from Yerba Buena Island.
Another Bay Area resident, Dave Watson of Health2047 fessed up that his Golden Gate Bridge is a stock Zoom background. But he has tricked others that it is the view from his office in the Marin headlands. He says "It took them awhile to figure out I was spoofing because it was a morning video call but the background shows an evening sunset..."
Alex Shootman, CEO of Workfront, does not need drone or satellite imagery. He routinely bikes up mountains in Utah. This is what he presented at his LEAP conference this week.
No heights for Paul Wright, CIO at Accuride. He has been working from his red barn in Michigan. I can report no farm animals Zoom bombed our session, and the connectivity was excellent!
Brent Leary of CRM Essentials has a real-life office background from his place in Atlanta. I have been on a few calls with him and the rotating fan never fails to mesmerize me. One way to stand out in a Zoom gallery with 200 other participants! More importantly, he is also what he calls a "bedroom DJ". He has a nice following of his virtual shows.
Paul Greenberg of The 56 Group is the Master of Disguise. No, not of the fact that he is a rabid Yankees fan. More in masking tens, may be even hundreds of Smart Home sensors and Alexa pods in his Virginia home. See how many you can spot.
Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce recently did a joint presentation with Aneel Bhusri, CEO of Workday. In a nice touch, he used the background of a Workday facility.
Aneel Bhusri, in turn, used the background of his favorite pizzeria in San Francisco in a session with me. He hopes the publicity will help them survive this tough patch for restaurants.
HPE had a burst of color in its virtual Discover broadcast this week.
But even better, it was nostalgic to see an industry veteran, John Chambers, former CEO of Cisco talk about leadership during a crisis. He was interviewed by HPE CEO Antonio Neri and John was extremely generous to his predecessor, Lew Platt. The background? Even more color.
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