Q: How did you get where you are today?
A: I was captain of my uni rugby club and recall a meeting with the vice chancellor of the university. The Welsh Rugby Union released debentures to affiliated clubs which was a “guarantee” entitling the holder to a permanent seat at Cardiff Arms Park to watch Wales play (at a time when tickets were like gold dust). The vice chancellor wanted me to hand them over to him for his friends and associates. Instead, I told him I had created a vice presidency structure at the university rugby club and sold our allocation of six debentures to them for a 25-year period at a fixed price per annum. It secured a sound financial base for the club to start each year.
Slightly tongue in cheek, I invited him to become a vice president of the club if he wanted one that badly. Predictably, the sherry and biscuits disappeared and I was shown the door without ceremony. Despite this, I felt a surge of satisfaction at having held my own and got my own way. That gave me a taste for selling.
After a short stint with M&S, I joined the Western Mail & Echo where I learned my sales craft. Being Thomson trained was held in high regard at the time, and from Cardiff I left for the Post & Mail in Birmingham and from there to Westminster Press’s operations in Wiltshire. I then found myself at Future in Bath where I met my soon to be business partners. Future, in one of its many financial crises made the three of us redundant and instead of opening a flower shop, Anthem Publishing was born.
Q: What is your typical media day?
A: I’m such a traditionalist. Radio 4 is on first thing in the morning, followed by a quick look at our GA4 stats and then I’m into our social media channels and usually into the morass that is X (formerly Twitter). Unsurprisingly I love magazines. I read nearly all of our own from cover to cover (and also Cycling Weekly). In the evenings, I mostly read. I love books, always have. I’m currently revisiting Moisés Naím’s ‘The Revenge of Power’, a fascinating insight into the mechanics of global autocracy. Nice light summer reading ...
Q: What is the secret to a happy working life?
A: Balance and authenticity. Being kind and compassionate and being relentlessly curious.
Q: How do you see the sector evolving?
A: We all understand the volatility of the newsstand and the challenges of navigating a path through each and every algorithmic shift from Google. That won’t get any easier anytime soon. In an ever more competitive world, a product differentiation strategy is not enough. We committed to a service differentiation strategy from Anthem’s inception and that combined with our purpose driven values and beliefs will see us continue to thrive. So, I believe that businesses with purpose will succeed and those without will not.
Q: Who has particularly influenced you?
A: My father has been my greatest guide and inspiration. He was a giant of a man. A war hero, a business leader and a man who committed his whole life to charity and the service of others.
Neil Harries, my French teacher and first real rugby coach, who taught me to be brave and fearless and that sometimes I had to take a hit personally in order for my team to win.
Cathy Ferguson who has a towering intellect and who I first met when she was consulting for Westminster Press and who has helped Jon and I reshape Anthem into a caring, purpose driven business.
Q: What advice would you give someone starting out?
A: Learn and perfect the basics of your job. A long, successful and rewarding career must be built on solid technique so understand what works and why, and what doesn’t work and why.
Life in publishing is a marathon not a sprint though the ability to know when and how to up the pace is crucial.
You never work for companies, you always work for people so try to find someone who will mentor and guide you and be generous with their experience.
Q: How do you relax outside work?
A: I read voraciously, and I ride my bike(s). Mostly indoors now as I’ve had a couple of uncomfortably close encounters with the tarmac but I do 25 miles a day on the turbo and usually 100 miles on a Sunday.
Q: In an alternate life, what would you have done?
A: I’d have played professional rugby or coached professionally. I adored the brutality and finesse of the sport.
