I’m Saj Merali and I’m the chief executive of the PPA and over the past few months I have been immersing myself in defining what the PPA can do for our member organisations.

We are obsessing about putting member value at the core of our strategy and making sure our agenda exists to champion this industry and the truly multiplatform businesses that you represent.

I joined the PPA from New Statesman Media Group where I was Chief Revenue Officer and before this in various commercial roles in the b2b space including Incisive, infopro and Euromoney. This experience in publisher businesses has enabled me to have a clear understanding of not only the challenges and complexities affecting our member businesses but also how vibrant and exciting this industry is.

So that’s my work life.

In my other lives I am the co-founder of the Amal network, a group created to champion Muslim women in the workplace.

I am also a mum of two teens. I spend most of my Sunday’s cheering on the sideline of a football pitch – no question about the off-side rule in my world.

I play badminton every Monday and still hoping it will one day lose its geeky image and be cool.

And I am a big big foodie.

I come from a family of massive food-lovers. Nothing brings my family together more than celebrating key events around the dining table.

I love to cook and many of my tried and tested Swahili-inspired recipes have been handed down by my East African relatives; as well as adding my own spicy twist whilst flicking through a dog-eared and well-thumbed copy of Delia Smith back in the day.

So why exactly am I telling you all of this?

Because even though our individual passions are what make us unique, it’s these shared interests both on a personal and professional level that connect us and help us find our tribes.

So what is the true meaning of ‘Interest’?

The definition of interest is something that holds our attention and makes us want to learn more about it.

Back in the day I remember being huddled around copies of Just17 and Smash Hits with my friends. Getting up to speed on latest make up trends and learning all the words to Neneh Cherry’s Buffalo stance.

The eyeliner flick still lives on and even now many many years later, I can still recite those lyrics word for word.

But the way we consume content now, and our expectations around our experience is wildly different.

Nowadays I can indulge my passions through apps and content on BBC Good Food and Delish. I get to see the best rated recipes and choose something based on what I actually have in the fridge. The experience is far superior and connects me to other budding cooks and has a real diversity of recipes.

No longer do I have to pinch my boss’s weekly copy of Marketing Week to get up to speed on industry topics – these days I am spoilt for choice and rely on podcasts and regular newsletters that get to the facts fast – delivered directly to my inbox. Press Gazette, InPublishing, Campaign and Mediatel tell me about the publishing and advertising space. Flashes & Flames makes for great Friday reading and Brian Morrissey’s rebooting keeps me thinking about the future landscape.

Finding common interests is part of being human and ensures a sense of connection and belonging.

Where we work and what we enjoy may absolutely change or evolve over time (or not in the case of my music taste); but interests track the course of our lives.

At the core of our industry is that PPA members are all creators of trusted content or services for special interest communities and are focused on driving deep 1st party engagement.

This is as true for large scale multi-national businesses, as it is for smaller independents; for consumer publishers as well as our B2B operators.

The work of our editors and writers as well as our product and data experts – many of whom we’ll be hearing from today – create content and experiences that helps people to navigate the world around them – on a personal and a professional level. It is this reason that we can command the attention levels we do and that our audiences return to us again and again AND this is what is making our sector increasingly more desirable.

It is an absolute honour to be able to represent you and an industry that I have grown up in and at a time when there is so much going on.

No matter what we call ourselves – magazine brands, business media, publishers, martech, edtech, healthtech – the strategic glue that binds PPA members is that we are all creating trusted content for specialist audiences and this drives that deep engagement and attention to an extent that is unseen by any other sector of media.

But listen – we must definitely not confuse specialist with small.

It’s worth reminding ourselves about some of the key stats in a report that the PPA conducted in association with Vendigital

– Our sector – as represented by the PPA – contributed an estimated £3.74 billion to the UK economy in 2019 and directly supports over 55,000 jobs.

– PPA member brands connect with 84% of UK’s population

– And we serve expert B2B insight and information to professionals working and leading some of the biggest industries shaping our world; like Technology, Financial services, energy, professional Services and the health sector

We believe that building our plan around three key factors – People Product Audience – will be crucial in continuing to build a thriving and sustainable publishing sector.

We have prioritised a plan that will drive the most value and impact for you – our members – based around the role that you need us to play.

1. Firstly – helping to facilitate discussions with your peers.

PPA Collaborate is a series of programs and initiatives that brings you together to share knowledge, address industry challenges and work towards the best business environment for us all.

We have networks and steering groups such as audience measurement, supply chain, subscriptions, sustainability, and more.

Magnetic continues to be a key area for the PPA and supports external advertising customers and agencies in understanding more about our attentive audiences and trusted content and environments that inspire, inform and drive action.

2. Then there’s knowledge sharing and best practice

We want to make it really easy to understand some of the complex issues affecting us as an industry.

PPA Decodes is a series of informative seminars (such as the upcoming data masterclasses). They aim to breakdown and simplify current topics to help you and your teams – whether it is decisions around digital strategy or policy-related topics such as the online safety bill

3. Finally and very importantly – moving the dial on the reputation of our sector – as a brilliant place to work, that is fair and inclusive.

PPA Progress aims to do this by focussing on ED&I, our commitment to net zero and having a real focus on Talent.

A recent industry benchmarking survey carried out by the PPA showed that

85% of respondents were white

55% lived in London

and 75% identified as ABC1 or ‘middle class’

We want to encourage talent from all backgrounds to bring their voices and experiences to the fantastic range of brands that we represent and the exciting array of roles that are available across our industry.

We have an active steering group that is working hard on this programme of activity that is fundamental to future proofing our sector – ensuring we attract and retain talent and really audit our content to ensure representation in the voices we promote, the images we use and the topics we write about – down to making sure that our websites are accessible.

This leads us to our public affairs work and the representation of our industry's interests to government.

We stand beside you, but we also stand up for you!

We have made great strides in areas around the online safety bill, the empowerment of the Digital Markets Unit and the law surrounding subscriptions contracts.

Our advocacy work continues to be shaped by our members business models.