What made you want to work in the publishing industry?
There was no grand plan, it has really been about choosing the most interesting opportunities available, and I find publishing fascinating because of the inter-dependency of editorial and brand.

Chart your journey from the start of your career to where you are now.
After university, I got a job at the Mirror Group, working across the national titles, which was relentlessly entertaining. The combination of daily deadlines and long-term projects taught me so much. After 7 years there, it was time to move on and I went to the other end of the publishing industry in Rouleur, a premium publication sitting in a niche within a niche, where I have been since.

What is the most important thing about building a magazine brand?
Validity and honesty. Consumers are increasingly making their decisions based on values. That doesn’t mean that those values have to be high and mighty, but people are desperate to feel part of something genuine, to feel kinship. And if they do, the commercial value that is added to the brand is crucial – establishing the 'purpose' of the brand and staying true to that enables you to push its boundaries further.

How has winning Brand of the Year at the PPA Awards last year added value to Rouleur’s brand?
It’s a mark of credibility and status that advertisers recognise. Our audience is part of our brand, because they are so central to everything that we do, so we see it as an endorsement of our audience too.

How do you handle your deadlines?
Being realistic and avoiding the temptation to be over-optimistic is so important in a small business.

What would people be surprised to know about your job?
The variety often surprises people. From product design and photography to print schedules to data work and so much more; ‘Jack of all trades’ feels like I’m selling myself a little short, I prefer ‘queen of all trades’.

Walk me through your typical day.
See above. There really is no such thing as a typical day. Probably the only consistency is getting to watch bike racing, which is pretty great really.

What is the last photo you took on your phone?
A typographical doodle that I did last night – ‘FIND TIME’. It is particularly relevant at the moment, with two young kids at home and our show (the Rouleur Classic) this week, it’s hard to carve out time to refresh the brain.

What would be in your Room 101?
The restrictions on taking kids on holiday during term time.

Introvert or Extrovert?
Depends on the situation.

Optimist or Pessimist?
Realist – Optimism/pessimism is often just a failure to properly assess the information that you have. Which is what I once told my very optimistic wife. That went down worse than I expected, so perhaps I am an optimist.

Film or TV?
Neither

Sweet or Savoury?
I’m not even going to engage with this one or I’ll end up spending my entire afternoon thinking about what I’m going to have for dinner.

What magazine would be your Sunday afternoon or long train journey read?
At the moment, I’m really enjoying Delayed Gratification from our friends over at the Slow Journalism Company