Amanda’s experience spans publishing, digital media, membership, events, conferences, and exhibitions. She led a management buy-out of Faversham House in 2010 and subsequently bought out her private equity partners a few years later. With her fellow directors, she has been responsible for repositioning the company as an omni-channel digital intelligence business building on the company’s strong brands in utilities, sustainability, and visual communications.
I’m a woman in a man’s world. Whilst you would rightly expect a heritage magazine publisher to have a female heavy workforce the media owner trading role is still predominantly male owned.
I am responsible for managing agency and client trading. This means I manage our relationships at a senior level and how we work together in a mutually beneficial way.
It involves lots of meetings, lots of negotiations, and lots of numbers. I am on the Commercial Leadership Team which means I also manage and support the whole sales team.
I’m also very proud to be a Diversity and Inclusion Lead and we are working hard to improve representation and ensure everybody feels included at Hearst.
Prior to this I have worked at Northern and Shell who publish the Daily Express, Star, and OK! Magazine and a number of media agencies.
I’m a lockdown runner and am really proud to have just achieved my first 10k run. I’ve been listening to lots of podcasts whilst running and like to learn about new things or hear lots of different opinions.
At home I’ve been slowly turning my house greener, I’m on a mission to get a sustainable version of all the usual household and beauty products.
I’m married to a fellow media professional and we have a seven year old son. This means I’m pretty up to speed on Harry Potter, Transformers, and Ninjago. I can also build a mean lego set!
I’m really organised and like to keep my home and family organised. It makes for nice calm relaxing evenings, or free time to have a glass of wine with friends which is really important to me.
Rob has been Managing Director of Total Telecom, a division of Terrapinn Holdings, since 2010 and has overseen the transition from traditional print publisher to omni-channel media owner, with a portfolio including online publishing and award-winning events such as Connected Britain. Rob has over 25 years of experience in the industry including roles at EMAP and Timothy Benn Publishing across multiple B2B markets, including finance, broadcast and tech.
Andy is the founder of Cowles Media, a heavyweight design consultancy, but without the smoke, mirrors and mad expense.
Cowles Media specialise in media brand identities, famous logos and high-level digital integration. Andy is a Guardian Masterclass trainer and visiting lecturer at UAL University. Andy has won many awards, including the BSME Mark Boxer Award.
Reneé has been the Publisher of the LRB since October 2021, and was previously the Commercial Director and before that the Head of Marketing.
The LRB is Europe's largest literary magazine with an ABC circulation over 90,000 subscriptions. It also has a thriving bookshop and cake shop in Bloomsbury, an expanding e-commerce arm and broad associated digital activity.
Sophie joined Incisive Media in 2007 and is responsible for overseeing marketing and data strategy to achieve audience and revenue goals. She is an accomplished leader with a proven track record of managing and coaching high-performance teams, including the company’s customer success team. Sophie has extensive hands-on experience in tech and platform migration and how to apply this into successful product development.
Consumer Magazine Publisher with DC Thomson, responsible for a range of national and Scottish media brands.
Nicky Holt is Group Commercial Director for Bauer Media, leading a team of 140+ to deliver the sales and operations of commercial activity across portfolio of 40+ multiplatform brands. She specialises in creating customer-centric products and services that make a difference to people’s lives – be they a consumer of media, a commercial partner or an advertiser.
Nicky is also a passionate ambassador of the inclusive culture at Bauer. She led the launch of ‘Thrive at Bauer’ in 2017, an internal wellness and wellbeing programme designed to positively impact Bauer people’s physical and mental health. Alongside this, she sits on the ‘Belonging at Bauer Diversity & Inclusion Forum’ championing disability in the workplace as well as remaining an active member of the IAB’s DI&E Group.
As a well-established media professional, she has worked across print, digital and events in senior marketing, publishing and commercial roles for some of the world’s biggest media businesses. At Centaur Media, Nicky launched the award-winning e-learning programme – the Marketing Week Mini MBA. She also led the team that shaped The Festival of Marketing into an exciting and modern conference for global marketers.
In her spare time, Nicky uses her experience as a Neuro-linguistic Programming coach to mentor a group of female entrepreneurs, helping them to launch and shape their digital businesses to reach potential. She is Mum to Phoebe, wife to Steve, lover of bees and a yoga obsessive.
Adrian has a background in media publishing, working within leadership roles at IPC, Time Inc, TI Media and now Future. He is a Trustee for the industry charity, NewstrAid, and represents Future at the PPA.
John is a Director of Think Publishing and Chair of PPA Scotland.
After studying in Edinburgh John has began his publishing career working on, and writing for, a range of consumer magazines which have included Sight & Sound, Viz, Gardens Illustrated, Fortean Times and Wisden Cricket Monthly. He has worked in almost every discipline from production and web build to writing and publishing management. As Director at Think his team create digital content and print magazines in the travel, health, insurance, heritage, charity and financial sector and commission journalists, writers, photographers and illustrators throughout the UK.
Based in Glasgow, John runs a team that publish on behalf of brands including the National Trust for Scotland, Historic Scotland, Royal British Legion Scotland, Petplan, Royal Photographic Society, Whale and Dolphin Conservation, Friends of the Earth, The Arts Society and the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh.
Uwern is Experientialist®-in-Chief of OutThere magazine, a luxury and experiential travel and lifestyle journal rooted in its brand values of diversity, discovery and discernment. With a previous career in marketing and communications, Uwern co-founded OutThere alongside Creative Director Martin Perry over ten years (and a pandemic) ago. The dream was to promote a more diverse media landscape and better representation in the luxury travel industry, for his own community of LGBTQ+ travellers and for today’s widely intersectional and diverse luxury audiences, showcasing of the voices of those still under-represented in mainstream media and the stories of inclusive brands looking to change the status quo. In 2022, Uwern was named one of Walpole's “50 most influential people in British Luxury” and in 2020 was Campaign magazine's “Editorial Leader of the Year.”
Vanessa Kingori MBE is a multi award-winning, British based, businesswoman, diversity proponent, youth advocate and mother.
With over 20 years experience in the media industry Vanessa has a special focus on business transformation, digitalisation and change management.
Vanessa’s appointment to lead the British Vogue business in 2017 made history. She is British Vogue’s first female business lead in its 105 year history. She is also Conde Nast Britain’s first Black Publisher or business lead.
Vanessa’s role at British Vogue has involved a significant shift in the brand’s purpose and business strategy with an emphasis on diversity of perspective, social responsibility and female empowerment. This has led to multiple business awards, digital transformation, revenue growth and revenue diversification.
The unprecedented success of British Vogue’s revenue transformation during her tenure, has led to a recent promotion and expansion of her role to Chief Business Officer across the entire British company and encompassing all Conde Nast Britain brands - Vogue, GQ, Wired, Vanity Fair, Glamour, Tatler, Conde Nast Traveler, House & Garden and The World of Interiors. This is in addition to continuing her existing responsibilities directly leading British Vogue and a further expansion of role to support the Vogue brand across Europe as Vogue’s European Advisor.
Prior to British Vogue, Vanessa was Publisher of British GQ, also signalling many firsts for the company. Before her 12 years at Conde Nast she worked at Hearst magazines and the Evening Standard.
Vanessa is a prolific public speaker. Her most frequent requests are from Footsie 100 companies to share her thoughts on digital transformation, change management and purpose in business. This includes speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Barclays, Google/YouTube, McKinsey and many more.
Vanessa has topped Campaign’s Top 10 Trailblazers for 2020 and Top 10 Commercial Chiefs in Britain by Campaign in 2021. Vanessa has been credited amongst the 100 Most Influential Black Britons every year for the past 7 years. Her body of work and services to British Media led her to be awarded an MBE on the Queen's 90th Birthday Honours Lists, 2016.
In her work as youth advocate Vanessa sits on UAL’s Board of Directors as a Governor and Trustee and enjoys a long standing role as Visiting Fellow at the University of the Arts London where she supports and mentors students across the institution’s 6 colleges which include Central Saint Martins and London College of Fashion. This is in addition to her key responsibilities giving governance regarding the organisations key business decisions. Vanessa was awarded a UAL Honorary Doctorate in 2018 and an Honorary Fellowship from Royal Holloway.
Her work as diversity proponent includes the judging panel of the Black British Business Awards, the Veuve Clicquot Business Women of The Year Award, The Mayor of London’s TFL’s diversity in advertising competition. Vanessa is a member of The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists Race Equality Taskforce. In support of women entrepreneurs, Vanessa is also part of a microfund Peanut StartHer which is focused on helping pre-seed entrepreneurs in tech and business, with a particular focus on giving purpose driven startups, founded by women, their first boost.
Vanessa organised and lead #SHARETHEMICUK to highlight the accomplishments and contribution of high achieving Black women, using the allyship of successful White women during Black history month UK 2020. The project was backed by Instagram and participants included Priya Ahluwalia, Bernadine Evaristo, Bianca Saunders, June Sarpong, Emma Dabiri, Kourtney Kardashian, Gwyneth Paltrow, Victoria Beckham, Sheryl Sandberg, Christiane Amanpour and Brooke Shields with a combined audience of 175 million. It helped to launch several exciting new collaborations, inspiring conversations, books, podcasts and new friendships between unlikely pairings.
Helena is the content lead across all accounts at SevenC3 and hands-on Editor of the multi-award winning print title Sainsbury’s magazine (three times winner of the PPA customer magazine of the year), as well as sainsburysmagazine.co.uk and social channels.
Helena has spent much of her career working on women’s lifestyle titles including Cosmopolitan, Red and Psychologies and joined Sainsbury’s magazine as deputy editor over fifteen years ago. She then edited a magazine – Source – for John Lewis working at John Brown Media, before re-joining Sainsbury’s magazine as Editor in Chief.
Under Helena’s stewardship the magazine remains the most widely read, paid for monthly glossy in the UK. The magazine also sells more copies on the newsstand than any other food title.
Helena also oversees content produced for many other clients at SevenC3 including Bosch, EY and WW (formerly WeightWatchers). She manages a team of editors and has a large network of contacts and contributors.
Robert Marr has been CEO of Metropolis Group for ten years during which time it has been one of the UK's fastest growing publishing businesses.
Tilly is the co-founder of Think Media Group which includes Think Membership Publishing, Think Books, Think Travel and Wanderlust Travel Media. 20 years old this year, the group has enjoyed consistent independent growth and today publishes 40 magazines and websites in both the consumer and B2B spaces. The group specialises in niche markets and publishes in diverse sectors including engineering, optometry, heritage, the arts, zoology, travel, brewing, health, conservation, accountancy and management.
Tilly is also non-executive director and co-owner of Welbeck Publishing Group (formerly Carton Books), a director of L’Effet, the Luxury Shopping Rewards app, Chair of the Liberal Democrats Business & Entrepreneurs Network, sits on the Development Board of the National Youth Theatre and is the recipient of the PPA Individual Achievement Award.
Esther is the editor of Women’s Running and the host of the Women’s Running podcast, and is passionate about encouraging women to enjoy an active life, and removing the barriers they might face. She has worked in media for over 25 years, in newsstand, online and membership publishing. Now overseeing a print and online magazine, a busy website, popular social channels and the weekly podcast, she still finds time to train for marathons and lead a running group.
Daniel Pearce is CEO and owner of TTG Media, the award-winning media business connecting the travel industry in the UK and beyond through magazines, websites and events.
After working as a journalist in newspapers and magazines since 1996, Daniel joined TTG as Editor in 2010, before mounting a management buy-out and setting up TTG Media in 2013.
Since then TTG Media has gone from strength to strength, launching a string of new initiatives including membership programme TTG+, the TTG Top 50 Travel Agencies, TTG LGBT events, the ttgluxury Travel Awards, the ttgluxury Travel Summit, and this year the Travel Industry Awards by TTG.
In April 2019 the business rebranded under a new vision to promote a ‘Smarter, Better, Fairer’ travel industry – and new investment in print publishing, with TTG magazine still at the heart of the industry 67 years after its first edition.
In 2021 TTG Media won the Special Recognition Award at the PPA Independent Publisher Awards two years after winning the Independent Publishing Company of the Year award at the same event – while in 2020 TTG Media was crowned Business Media Brand of the Year at the Campaign Publishing Awards.
Before launching his career in publishing Viel worked in the worlds of theatre and retail where communication skills are key to success. A natural storyteller, Viel started as a writer covering a wide variety of subjects at LSC Publishing. He soon joined the editorial team where his skill for editing as well as writing engaging content, made him a key member of the team that produced a series of award winning magazines. Having developed a special interest in the medical field Viel founded Lusona Publishing and Media in 2021 which publishes ‘Prognosis’, the magazine of the Harley Street Medical Area
Nick is the fourth generation to lead The Hemming Group, a family-owned B2B media company, founded in 1893. With an emphasis on quality content, the company produces digital and paper-based magazines and information products, and digital and physical conferences, exhibitions and awards ceremonies. The markets it serves include local government, highway and bridge construction & maintenance, traffic management, the wine trade, building services, and the management of stadia and arenas.
After studying Civil Engineering at Oxford, Nick worked in ad sales and marketing for Maclean-Hunter in Toronto and International Thompson Business Publishing in London. He joined the Hemming Group in 1988 and set up their magazine marketing department. He worked his way up to become General Manager of the directory publishing division, and from there was made Group Managing Director in 1995.
Nick stepped down in 2002, after seven successful years in the position, and moved to Madrid with his family. There, he worked as an independent business consultant for SMEs, and then Marketing Director of an international outsourced high-tech sales agency. When the economic crisis hit in 2008, he set up his own company providing coaching in English for Spanish business people and professionals, working with the Bank of Spain, Volkswagen Finance, Mercedes, Energeia do Portugal, and other major organisations.
In January 2015, he returned to the Hemming Group as Chairman. He is a non-executive director of Publishers’ Licensing Services (PLS) and the Copyright Licensing Agency (CLA). In the past, he has served as a director of the Periodical Training Council (PTC), the Publishing National Training Organisation (PNTO) and the Maria Montessori Training Organisation, and as the Financial Trustee of the Commonwealth Countries League.
Lina started her travel career at lastminute.com working her way to head of the European Partnerships across 7 markets, growing and building new partnerships to drive revenue. With a huge passion for digital and technology she worked for an agency, before moving Travel Supermarket where she worked for over 8 years, working her way to Head of Digital Trading running Advertising, Business Development and Onsite Trading. As COO Lina will lead the sales and commercial team to grow our digital proposition, as well as supporting the growth of the cruise audience in both digital and print.
Shailesh is executive editor of Asian Media Group, Britain’s biggest Asian publishing house. Established in 1968, the group publishes a stable of market leading consumer and business titles which include Garavi Gujarat and Eastern Eye newspapers, Asian Trader, Pharmacy Business, Asian Hospitality, The Asian Rich List and the GG2 Power List. The group also hosts some the country’s leading events celebrating the success of ethnic communities. AMG’s events include the Asian Business Awards, the Asian Trader Awards, the GG2 Leadership & Diversity Awards, the Pharmacy Business Awards and the Eastern Eye Arts, Culture and Theatre Awards (ACTAs).
An economics graduate, Shailesh has interviewed prime ministers, cabinet ministers, CEOs and movie stars in his career spanning three decades across the UK, the US and India. He has a particular interest in equality, diversity and inclusion, and helped create the GG2 Leadership & Diversity Awards and the GG2 Diversity Conference. Shailesh is vice chair of the race, integration and identity thinktank British Future, an adviser to the Rare Dementia Support charity, a director of the education charity Pratham UK. He is also an ambassador for the CBI’s Change the Race Ratio initiative.
Gideon Spanier has been UK editor-in-chief of Campaign since March 2020 and was named editor of the year, business & finance by the British Society of Magazine Editors in February 2021. He joined Campaign as head of media in 2015 and previously worked at the London Evening Standard, The Times and The Independent. He is a former chair of the Broadcasting Press Guild and began his career as a TV producer at CNN in London.
Lorna joined Archant in 2010 as Digital Sales Director. She moved to Archant’s content marketing agency Dialogue three years later to become Client Strategy and Solutions Director, before being promoted to Digital Development Director for the group.
Lorna joined the Archant Executive team in January 2018, leading the Digital, Data and Insight function. Her role expanded a year later when she became Chief Client Officer, responsible for all commercial revenues.
In March 2021, Lorna was appointed to the role of Chief Executive Officer.
After graduating from the University of Sheffield with a BA (hons) Business, Lorna joined the Financial Times commercial function and was also the Sales and Sponsorship Manager for the Guardian News and Media Group.
She has a relentless passion for local media and the positive difference it makes to communities each and every day.
Nina completed a BSC (Hons) Psychology Degree in Liverpool before undertaking a career in the media industry over 25 years ago. Nina joined New Scientist Media Company as CEO in October 2018, Nina’s experience spans publishing, digital media, and events. Nina has a notable track record in business turnaround and driving transformational growth, she is particularly skilled in digital NPD and recurring revenues. Prior to joining New Scientist, Nina worked at UBM, where her most recent role was Chief Commercial Officer for EMEA.
