What was it that made you want to work in the publishing industry?

I used to read magazines voraciously, like Just Seventeen and Smash Hits and dream of London, popstars and fashion which didn’t exist in Newcastle where I lived. I thought that if I worked in magazines, it would get me out of the North and I would be hanging out with popstars all day. I always did journalist type work, like at the Newcastle Evening Chronicle and at BBC Look North. At university I worked on the student supplement, so I worked hard at the start to get into that industry.

Chart your career from the start to where you are now.

I was travelling in LA during university and helped out a journalist with some quotes. She worked for a magazine called TV Hits, which was in Australia and London at the time, so when I got back to London, I got in touch with them, and ended up working on Inside Soap. I was keen and did everything they wanted me to do, so when I graduated, they immediately put me on the payroll as editorial assistant. I worked my way up to features editor. I then went to Australia to launch a monthly TV magazine but it didn’t really work and lasted about a year. I went back to LA to be the Bureau Chief for TV Hits, so I did all the Hollywood press junkets, and after that, went back to London to B magazine where I was Deputy Editor, then I moved to Company. That closed about four years ago and I moved to Good Housekeeping to help with their digital presence. Hearst then started to started to work with Asda and that’s when we set up the Hearst Content Agency.

Can you describe what the Hearst Content Agency does?

We produce content for brands other than our own brands. We draw from all the talent from our brands like Elle and Cosmopolitan, but the content that we produce sits on well-known brands owned platforms. For example, Asda have an in-store magazine, a website which we feed daily and we run their social channels.

Do you have separate editorial teams for every brand?

A bit of both. Asda have a very separate team because it is massive – the magazine has a circulation of 2 million. We have a central Hearst Content Agency editorial team which works across the different brands. Brands are really hungry for content and so they have us and other agencies creating it for them.

Can you envision any revenue streams that have not yet been tapped into by publishers?

Publishers are very good at understanding audiences and how their lives work and what we can do to enrich their lives. So that can lead to so many things. Could Mens Health open a chain of gyms for example? You also have the power of the brand behind everything which provides reassurance. If Esquire thinks something is cool, then it probably is. People are nervous about big value purchases so the idea that someone from an established brand has endorsed it, then it gives you extra reassurance.

What main prediction would you make for UK magazine media in the next decade?

I hope there is a place for magazines for evermore. What is going to become crucial is edited and targeted choice. General all-purpose media is a bit old fashioned. Most people expect bespoke content. The media in general will become increasingly niche, bespoke and targeted to the individual rather than being a mass offering.

What has been the highlight of your career so far?

When I see people in the building that I have employed as an intern and they have worked their way up. Working in magazines in general has been an ongoing highlight and of course the showbiz stuff.

What would people be surprised to know about your job?

How much free reign we get to advise and guide clients. People assume that brands tell you what to do and you just do that. The world of commercial content is incredibly creative and expansive and big budgets from big brands give us the freedom to do a lot!

What would be in your Room 101?

Crocs and socks and ambiguous toilet signs.

What would be your long train journey read?

ELLE Decoration or House Beautiful.