Anna Jones: Magazines got under my skin
Magazines have been an important part of my life from early on. Growing up in rural Yorkshire, my Mum driving me to pick up a copy of Jackie was a big part of my week. I later graduated to borrowing her copies of Marie Claire and Cosmopolitan.
These brands showed me a different, bigger, more exciting world. They also got under my skin in a way that was hard to define at the time, but which I now realise felt like belonging to a club; one that opened up a world of new horizons.
I still feel like that now, and I’ve worked in the industry much of my career, starting off in marketing at Emap. Emap was a very confident and “can do” business, and it gave me a brilliant grounding.
I then spent the next few years at Hachette, working as marketing director on fantastic brands likeElle, Red and Digital Spy. I was lucky enough to be sponsored by an inspiring chairman who kept giving me new challenges, firstly running our digital division, and then heading up strategy for the company.
I think the breadth and scope of those roles, combined with having an excellent mentor, stood me in good stead for my role at Hearst.
Getting the role as chief operating officer at Hearst, and then becoming chief executive, was a dream come true for a magazine nut like me.
Our job is to grow Hearst brands like Good Housekeeping and Cosmopolitan in the right direction, whilst continuing to provide our audiences with brilliant content however they choose to consume it.
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