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.
Jon is CEO and joint-founder of Anthem. He’s continually excited by launching and developing brands and working with team members to stretch and reach their full personal potential. With a circulation background in his early career, he finds consumer sales success particularly rewarding. Jon’s also a volunteer director with Bath City Football Club.
Sarah Brealey is an award-winning editor, writer and content strategist. She is Editor of Heart Matters and health news at the British Heart Foundation, providing information, inspiration and support to people affected by heart and circulatory disease. Sarah leads the British Heart Foundation’s online coronavirus hub, which she launched in 2020. It has since attracted more than 15 million users, providing vital support to people with heart conditions with their questions and concerns about Covid-19 and its vaccines. In 2021 Heart Matters was named as Membership Publication of the Year at the PPA Independent Publisher Awards. Sarah has edited Heart Matters since 2016, and was previously Deputy Editor, and worked in regional newspapers prior to that.
Bill is the Group MD at the Hemming Group, a family-owned company providing market-leading business information and events for over 100 years. Bill has over 30 years of experience across the company in B2B publishing and live events.
The Hemming Group currently serves four main business areas; Public Sector, Transport, Building Services and International. The Hemming Group products include The MJ, the leading weekly magazine for over 130 years. Other HGL products include Bridge Design and Engineering, Highways, Builders Merchants News, and Executive Hire News.
In addition to print, digital and recruitment, Bill manages a live event portfolio, including large-scale B2B exhibitions, conferences, round tables and Awards
Bill is a former aeo council member and aeo awards judge.
Sarah Cox has been a senior member of the team at Burlington Media Group since 2009, leading the client services division until becoming co-CEO in 2020. Over her time the business has grown to encompass publishing, research and events, and now also a data service. Before joining, she was a client, buying into the products to market a software firm. This journey means she brings to the table the view from both client and publisher, a useful asset during the pre-launch phase of new products. It also successfully benefits client relationships as she understands from first-hand experience their challenges around exploring the best routes to market. Going from client to co-owner makes her a real Victor Kiam of legal publishing - but slightly better looking.
Kate has over 20 years’ experience working in the magazine industry, with circulation and copy sales being a key specialism – driven by her roles at ABC and Seymour Distribution.
Kate has been at Newtrade Media since 2008 - with a five-year hiatus in 2012 during which she mastered her multi-tasking and extreme patience skills whilst looking after her two small children(!) Kate’s role at Newtrade Media covers event, digital, audience and customer marketing, with a key focus on understanding what makes Newtrade’s audience of independent retailers tick, and working with teams across the business to increase engagement with Newtrade’s portfolio of products.
Kate has been instrumental in the success that RN, Newtrade Media’s flagship title, has seen over the past 12 months – with the latest ABC results showing a 2.1% increase in paid-for copy sales.
Stewart began his career at Hearst almost 20 years ago working in sales across titles such as Cosmopolitan, Esquire and Country Living. Moving up though the ranks he left to join Shortlist Media at its inception in 2007 and there saw it grow to a £24m+ business. Leaving there as Head of Sales across ShortList and Stylist in 2017. He then became Publishing Director for an international travel publishers, Morris Communications. He now sits as Strategy Director for Century One and Cabbells, an arts marketing agency.
Sophie Griffiths joined Travel Trade Gazette in March 2010 as a news reporter before working her way up to the position of editor in January 2017. She is also the founder of TTG LGBT, a network for LGBT people and allies within the travel industry which champions diversity within the sector.
In 2019 Sophie was awarded Editor of the Year – Trade & Professional by the British Society of Magazine Editors. She was also named Editor of the Year for the second year running at the 2019 Independent Publisher Awards, where TTG Media was also named Independent Publishing Company of the Year.
In 2021 Sophie was named a Travel Media Champion at the Travel Media Awards and was winner of the Association of Women in Travel Executives Honorary Award for her work advocating the travel industry during the Covid 19 pandemic.
Matthew Jackson is APL’s Managing Director and has worked in media and magazines for 25 years. A peanut butter connoisseur, father of three kids and 1 dog, he is happiest climbing a mountain or swinging a golf club.
Anatu is the Director and Editor-in-Chief of The Academic woman, a bespoke magazine, that celebrates the achievements of women working in higher education.
Anatu is an academic and started her career as a lecturer in Publishing Studies. She enrolled on a PhD programme with two children. Studying for a PhD and raising two children was not without its challenges. Upon reflecting on the journey, she acknowledged first-hand just how hard women must work in order to be recognised, and how quickly what is gained can be lost. She’s since committed to championing recognition, and celebrating the achievements of all women working in higher education.
Chloe is editorial director at Assemble Media Group overseeing three publications – Building, Building Design and Housing Today – and bringing relevant and impactful news, insight and analysis to professionals in the built environment. The titles boast a membership community of 85,000 professionals in over 100 countries. Her team of journalists regularly interview industry CEOs, review ground-breaking buildings and report on controversies and challenges facing construction. Chloe has worked in journalism for 20 years, and specialises in setting editorial agendas and devising campaigns that will resonate with audiences. As the face of the flagship title Building she regularly chairs online debates, hosts podcasts and speaks at public events.
I am co-founder and Creative Director of OutThere an award-winning luxury travel and style magazine.
My multi-faceted role covers art direction, photography, graphic and layout design, illustration, writing, and film making. All of which takes me around the world uncovering stories and creating engaging high quality content for our discerning readers. I oversee every aspect of the visual side of OutThere’s output, including OutThere Studio which provides bespoke creative marketing for the travel industry. Recent projects include creating LGBTQ+ marketing campaigns for the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) and Malta Tourism Authority (MTA).
Sanjay is a seasoned technology leader with more than 25 years of experience implementing innovative and practical solutions to complex problems across multiple industries including media and financial services. Currently CIO of the New Statesman Media Group he recently oversaw the launch of a new purpose-built central publishing platform for the group which powered the replatform of the redesigned New Statesman website. Sanjay has also overseen technical delivery at Beano Studios and Freesat as well as working in various senior delivery roles at Channel 4, ITV, Sky and Virgin Money.
I have worked at the London Review of Books for 5 years, having previously worked on both B2B and B2C titles. I am responsible for driving our subscriptions marketing strategy, identifying areas for growth as well as maximising the relationships we have with our current readers. I love the breadth of projects I get to be involved with on a daily basis and the excitement of looking for new commercial opportunities. And I do appreciate a good spreadsheet…
Nashitha Suren is the Group Consumer Revenues Marketing Director at Big Issue a social enterprise that exists to create innovative solutions through enterprise to unlock social and economic opportunities for people in the UK living in poverty to earn, learn and thrive. As a Senior Brand & Direct Marketing professional, Nashitha has over 20 years management experience in B2B and Consumer Markets, with a focus on digital innovation and subscription/recurring revenues.
Nashitha joined The Big Issue in May 2020 as the brand was navigating its way through the Covid pandemic. With the Big Issue vendors not able to sell on the streets, Nashitha’s role was focussed on accelerating the brands digital transformation as well as building additional sources of income for vendors and the organisation. Winning Cannes Lions and One Show Innovation awards as well as 4 awards at PPA 2021.
Prior to Big Issue, Nashitha has held several marketing roles at Media companies. At Time Inc where she was part of the launch team as one of the first publishers to launch a portfolio of 72 magazine apps, including the award-winning Wallpaper magazine app. She also headed up customer and marketing strategy for the first Innovation lab at Time Inc working on several MVP projects using lean start-up principles and winning 2016 AOP and British Media Awards for Product Team of the Year. Nashitha created and delivered the first non-music event for NME, a careers event NME #LifeHacks helping to establish the brand in new sectors, education, fashion and tech.
Nashitha has also held roles at BBC Magazines and Nature Publishing Group with innovation, digital & data transformation projects at the heart of her roles.
Joined Motor Sport over 10 years ago as its first digital designer with the specific objective of launching the original digital edition of Motor Sport magazine and lead all technical developments for the app within the editorial department. Over the years my remit expanded to work and support other departments across the company including digital marketing, publishing, commercial and subscriptions.
In recognition of my achievements and after a few promotions, I am now a member of the management team and lead three core areas of the business, digital, marketing and subscriptions.
Sara is the editor of the leading title in the health and fitness category, Slimming World Magazine, which was named Consumer Publication of the Year at last years’ PPA Independent Awards, the magazine’s 9th major award. With 22 years’ experience in magazine journalism, Sara is passionate about bringing the life-changing subject of healthy weight loss to life in a way that is informative, entertaining and accessible, and loves the power of magazines to bring communities together.
Elliot Wellsteed-Crook is the Chief Operating Officer at Wanderlust, the UK’s leading independent travel magazine. His background spans marketing, partnerships and PR at organisations including Forbes, London Tech Week and AI Business.
Having joined Wanderlust in January 2021, alongside the new owner Elliot has supported the transformation of the brand. In just 18 months, Wanderlust underwent a rapid expansion to earn the accolade of PPA Special Interest Magazine/Brand of the Year. Elliot’s role is to continue to take the publication to new heights and build on its market leading position across print and digital, and to accelerate the global expansion of the brand.
Prior to Wanderlust, Elliot held senior positions across the world of B2B technology media and events, including as Director of Community at Forbes Ignite (the innovation coalition of Forbes) and Informa PLC, where as Head of Partnerships & PR, Elliot worked to scale the brand and community of Europe’s largest technology festival, and other events, concentrating on disruptive technologies.
Elliot cut his teeth at AI Business, the world’s first publication dedicated to the business and technology of artificial intelligence, which fast became the world’s foremost events and media site dedicated to AI.
Involved in publishing since 1982 starting his career at Morgan Grampian. Moving up from a sales position to publisher in the late 80’s. He worked as publisher in many sectors including, Building and construction, Catering, Marketing and Agriculture. He formed his own company in 2001 Grove House publishing, with Caroline Calder which was sold in 2010 and he became COO of Ten Alps (Zinc media) covering a wide range of markets including MOD, Veterinary, Optical, Motoring, Campaign and Caravans, flight and Motor Sport. Most recently launched Blackness Lane Ltd, again with Caroline and acquired WB publishing which has both print, data, digital and events.
I am a highly experienced art director that has worked on some of the biggest brands in publishing, originating content in fashion, beauty, celebrities, lifestyle and food, across all mediums, print and digital.
I have specialised in brand launches, working closely with editors to initially focus and define a specific audience. My strong typography and design skills have enabled me to create original and dynamic content to attract this audience and keep them loyal to the brand.
My first job was on the launch of British Elle, I then launched a youth and style magazine called Sky, followed by 4 years in Fleet Street working on the Mail on sunday’s You Magazine, and relaunching The Sunday Express. I then had a highly enjoyable 14 years as art director of glossy women’s magazine Red.
I have been working for The River group for four and a half years, working on various titles from Holland and Barratt’s award winning Healthy Magazine to more recently a highly enjoyable year working on the very beautiful CRAFTS magazine for the The Crafts Council.
My passion and interest in design remains as strong now as when I first began in the creative industry.