Tom Armstrong is the Vice President of Global Advertising at The New York Times. He is responsible for generating revenue from all the Times’s multiplatform products & services & leadership of the sales team across international markets. Previously, Tom was at Fairfax Media where he was the Chief Revenue Officer, leading a team across Fairfax Media’s publishing brands including: The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age & The Australian Financial Review. Before joining Fairfax, Tom spent 12 years with Paramount in London in various senior international roles focused on building the digital business for their flagship brands: MTV, Nickelodeon & Comedy Central. He held several positions at Discovery Networks & worked for a gaming start-up, Two Way TV, pioneering some of the world’s first interactive TV experiences.

Chris Packham is a conservationist and broadcaster known for his environmental and animal welfare activism. His TV credits include 'Springwatch' and 'Earth' for the BBC and 'Is it Time to Break the Law' for Channel 4. Alongside his ambassadorial roles for numerous NGO's he runs independent campaigns aimed at nature recovery and ending animal cruelty. Chris is also a vocal advocate for neurodiversity with a special focus on autism. His mantras are “winning is not giving up” and “shout above the noise”

My career spans three decades at the intersection of journalism and technology. I have reported from conflict zones, led global newsrooms, and advised News Corp, CNN, and Microsoft, among others.

In the early 2000s, I moved into tech, working in search and early AI, which led me to found Oovvuu, which uses AI to match videos and articles.

Last year, I launched the Future Media newsletter, to focus on the collision of Big Media and Big Tech, AI, future business models for media, and the global antitrust movement.

Scan the QR code to subscribe to Ricky's newsletter.

Nick is Managing Director, Global Subscription Sales at Bloomberg Media. In this role he is responsible for driving growth of group subscriptions to Bloomberg.com through B2B channels. Nick has extensive global experience driving revenue growth across the B2B and B2C Media & Business Information sectors, having previously advised and led sales and business development teams for some of the world’s leading media brands including The Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones, The Financial Times and The Times of London.

Lisa Smosarski is the award-winning Editorial Director of Stylist. As well as engaging over 5 million women editorially through the magazine, website, social media and events each month, Lisa is a board director at The Stylist Group.

Lisa also writes Stylist’s career-focused How To Work column and companion email and hosts the Stylist Network event series. Prior to Stylist, Lisa edited more!, bliss and Smash Hits.

Paul Hood is an independent digital transformation consultant for the publishing sector. He has more than two decades of experience driving innovation and revenue growth for leading UK publishers including News UK, Reach and Bauer.

He specialises in leveraging data-driven strategies and emerging technologies to transform media businesses. Paul recently completed Oxford University’s Artificial Intelligence Programme in order to better understand how AI technology & tools can drive growth for publishers.

He now helps legacy media brands to identify new revenue opportunities that can be unlocked using AI tools.

You can connect with Paul via LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/paulhood

Lisa Batty is Global Planning director at TikTok working on key Global agencies and accounts to educate at scale on the art of planning on Tiktok . She previously worked as head of comms planning and strategy for Europe and also led the formation of the Brand Strategy team when she first joined the business.

Lisa started her career as a communications planner at Publicis, Initiative Media and OMD spending 12 years working working on diverse clients across multiple sectors such as Unilever, LVMH, Harper Collins, Peugeot, AXA and Bel. This was followed by ten years at Time Inc. working in brand strategy and business marketing. Before joining TikTok in April 2020 Lisa ran her own consultancy, 'Memorable'.

Lisa has a degree in Modern Languages from the University of Manchester and La Sorbonne in Paris.

Kalpana Fitzpatrick is an award-winning financial journalist and author. She is the digital editor of MoneyWeek and also writes regular money columns for women’s lifestyle titles.

As a money expert, she often appears on TV and radio. She has also written several money books for children and adults and is passionate about helping people be better with their money. Her particular goal is to educate more people about getting started with investing the right way and promoting financial education. Kalpana started her career at the Financial Times group.

Sean is CEO of Immediate, home to trusted brands that people love, including Radio Times, Good Food, BBC Gardeners’ World magazine and HistoryExtra.

An experienced digital leader, in both fast-scaling and high-growth digital pure-plays and established global brands, Sean has a strong track record of building and leading significant revenue generating businesses, through accelerating growth, driving change and scaling operations. Sean joined Immediate in 2021 as Platforms CEO, with responsibility for Immediate’s digital businesses, and was appointed Immediate CEO in May 2023.

Sean has overseen the scaled growth of Immediate’s digital subscriptions business, with the launch of premium paid-for digital products in Food, History and Gardening, and the acquisition of Nutracheck, the UK’s leading subscription-based weight management and dietary improvement app. Immediate now has over 700,000 digital subscribers and is the UK’s leading media publisher for subscriptions across digital and print.

With over 20 years’ experience in senior leadership positions, Sean’s previous roles include CEO of Direct Ferries, Chief Digital & Marketing Officer of Travelex and MD International at eHarmony, as well as other senior general management and marketing roles at Google and various start-ups.

Audrey Indome is best known as one half of The Receipts Podcast which she has been hosting alongside with Tolani Shoneye.

In 2019, they signed an exclusive deal with Spotify Studios and have toured live shows with Fane Productions across the country including dates at the prestigious London Palladium. Their debut book Keep The Receipts was published in July 2021 and was a Sunday Times Bestseller.

Alongside her work on The Receipts Podcast, Audrey has established herself as a presenter, host and influencer. Presenting and hosting work includes The Big Breakfast for Channel 4, Tonight with Target for BBC, Dating No Filter Series 2 for Sky One and most recently presented a documentary, On The Cards: Colourism alongside Tan France for BBCiPlayer.

Tamsin is currently Vice President of Retention and Engagement at The Economist. Before this, Tamsin worked at Which?, the consumer association, a not-for-profit organisation where she led member & supporter engagement and retention. Tamsin also spent many years at Hearst UK and Hachette Filipacchi, driving subscription growth by cultivating active relationships with customers.

Lucy Luke is Head of Creator & Media Partnerships UK at Snap and is responsible for managing publisher and creator content across sport, news and entertainment on Snapchat. Before joining Snap, Lucy spent eight years at Meta, where she managed partner relationships across Facebook and Instagram with a key focus on building their businesses, audiences and innovation on the platforms.

Lucy has led the strategic direction for media publishers and Creators across EMEA ranging from ViacomCBS to Jamie Oliver. Prior to Meta, Lucy was at Brave Bison, based in New York, where she managed video monetisation for YouTube creators and broadcasters which included branded content partnerships and producing original content for the platform.

As Chief Executive Officer, Katie Vanneck-Smith has overall management responsibility for leading premium content and experience business, Hearst UK.

Katie has a wealth of experience innovating in the media industry, having worked for both large-scale corporations and more recently launching a successful startup.

Katie joined Hearst UK in December 2022 from Tortoise Media, a global media outlet that she co-founded in 2018. Prior to that, she was President and Chief Customer Officer of Dow Jones, where she helped build and lead The Wall Street Journal’s successful online membership-based business.

Katie has also held senior roles at The Telegraph Media Group and The Times. As Chief Marketing Officer at The Times, Katie led the architecture of the newspaper’s early move to paid digital subscriptions and was responsible for creating the UK’s first news membership brand, Times+. Katie also oversaw the company’s events programmes, including both The Wall Street Journal CEO Council and The Times CEO Summit.

Sajeeda Merali joined the PPA as CEO in 2021, with an agenda to transform the way the PPA represents and supports its 300+ UK multi-media business members, consumer magazine publishers, business-to-business data and information providers, customer magazine publishers and smaller independents.

A strategic leader with 20 years’ experience in the publishing industry, Sajeeda has held senior positions with both B2B and consumer-facing organisations, with extensive experience in change management and strategy development.

She joined the PPA from the New Statesman Media Group, where she was Chief Revenue Officer responsible for identifying high-value digital opportunities and launching commercial strategy for new brands in highly competitive markets.

Stephen Almond, Executive Director for Regulatory Risk, leads the ICO’s teams charged with engineering information rights into the fabric of new ideas, technologies and business models as part of our dynamic digital economy, including through the Digital Regulation Cooperation Forum.

Prior to joining the ICO, Stephen led a World Economic Forum initiative to promote the adoption of a more agile, innovation-enabling approach to regulation with governments and tech firms worldwide.

He previously worked in leadership roles across the UK Government, including creation of the White Paper on Regulation for the Fourth Industrial Revolution and roll-out of the Regulators’ Pioneer Fund, which invested in regulatory sandboxes and similar initiatives to unlock technological innovation.

Sarah Marshall is VP of Audience Strategy at Condé Nast. Her team supports the brand teams – from Architectural Digest, to The New Yorker, from Vogue to WIRED – in audience analytics, audio growth, SEO, social, video and newsletter strategies. Her team works across 11 markets and 7 languages

Tessa Kaday is the Director of Product at Trint – an AI-powered transcription and translation platform that was designed to speed up media workflows. With more than two decades of experience as a product leader and a senior journalist for organisations like Reuters and News UK, Tessa has a track record of launching top-tier digital products and transforming newsrooms.

As Director of Membership and Events, Rebecca has worked on the launch of Hearst UK’s top-tier membership propositions, including ELLE COLLECTIVE, Good Housekeeping VIP and Runner’s World Club. Rebecca has extensive experience running loyalty and engagement programmes.

Prior to Joining Hearst UK, she was VP Loyalty at The Wall Street Journal, where she was responsible for WSJ+, delivering membership events and experiences globally. She was also on the launch team for Times+ at The Times and Sunday Times.

Nick Shelton is the Founder, CEO and Publisher of independent media brand, Broadsheet Media.

Nick established Broadsheet in 2009 in Melbourne Australia, aged 25. Over the 15 years since, Broadsheet has grown to become Australia’s largest culture media brand and second largest independent publisher.

Broadsheet covers culture and city life across Australian and New Zealand cities. In 2025 Nick will be launching Broadsheet London to the UK market. “We see London as the most exciting cultural city in world right now and excited to bring Broadsheet here to celebrate this dynamic and diverse culture.”

Nick is also a founding board member of the Digital Publisher’s Alliance, an organisation representing the interests of Australia’s diverse independent media businesses. This includes consulting to the federal government on media reform and parliamentary joint-committee hearings on the impact of global social media platforms on Australian society.

Lucky Gunasekara is the co-founder and CEO of Miso.ai, an AI media lab exploring the next generation of search, personalization, and advertising technology for publishers. Miso.ai partners with over 150 media websites globally, helping them harness AI as a leapfrog technology to transform how readers discover, engage with, and value high-quality journalism and research.

At the heart of Miso.ai’s mission is a commitment to strengthening media businesses—not displacing them. While the lab is unlocking immediate, high-impact applications of AI to drive audience growth and revenue, they are also leading research on the critical risks AI poses to media—particularly the ways large tech platforms, in their pursuit of AI, scrape content, disintermediate publishers, and erode value. He leads both product design and research at Miso, where his team actively prototype legal, policy, and technical frameworks to realign AI’s future with the sustainability of journalism and publishing.

Isabel joined New Scientist in 2023 as the Social Media Manager and has led the growth of audiences across X, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.

The team has found a voice which is both authentic to each platform and to New Scientist. In a time of information overload, especially on social media, Isabel brings people science and health news they can trust. Her recent focus has been on expanding New Scientist’s Instagram presence, which reached 1 million followers in February. Using a two-part strategy, she has driven remarkable growth over the past six months, boosting subscription sales via Instagram by 109%.

Rishabh Lohia is the co-founder of Bridged Media, an AI platform dedicated to helping media businesses integrate Smart Agents across their operations.

With a background in entrepreneurship and a passion for innovation, Rishabh focuses on developing AI solutions that unlock new revenue streams, enhance editorial workflows, and improve audience engagement. His experience spans product development, growth strategies, and go-to-market execution, positioning him at the forefront of AI adoption in the media industry.

Obomate is an award-winning Video Producer at New Scientist, where she helps lead the brand’s vertical video strategy. Starting as a social video intern in 2023, she has used her expertise in science communication and platform best practices to engage new and younger audiences. Her work has driven a 97% year-over-year increase in Instagram video views and a 28% rise on TikTok, expanding New Scientist’s reach and engagement.

Recognised for her innovative approach, Obomate has won multiple industry awards, including accolades from the British Society of Magazine Editors, who praised her team’s ability to embed video at the heart of a brand’s content strategy. She is also a Rising Star at the AOP Digital Publishing Awards and a PPA Next Gen Award winner.

Louise has over 10 years' experience spanning B2C and B2B marketing roles within consumer insight, education, publishing and magazine media. She is the current Marketing Director of Nat Geo Kids Magazine where she leads a team, primarily responsible for driving subscription sales across UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. 

Having worked in start-ups through to medium-sized agencies and now, at an independent publisher and license holder of a much-loved kids brand, Louise has established a resourceful customer-first approach to drive growth and consumer engagement. 

Abi Spooner is Strategy Partner at Atlas, specialising in customer behavioural data analysis, forecasting and strategic planning, alongside delivering specialist subscriptions marketing training.

Abi worked as Customer Strategy Officer at Dennis and Future, and Chief Customer Officer at Dennis, where she created profitable customer-first strategies to drive acquisition, efficiency and yield across The Week globally. She also launched and grew The Week Junior UK and US as well as driving strategy for over 120 brands.

A highly skilled data storyteller, Abi makes complex analysis accessible and understood, from the board room to marketing teams and the wider business. She is at her happiest creating LTV models and believes creativity really can (and probably should) start with a spreadsheet.

Jessica Corrigan-Griffith is the face of Offtrend—quite literally. As the Lead Presenter of SCREENSHOT Media’s fashion and beauty vertical, built for the next generation, Jess has mastered the art of the viral vox pop, bringing fashion week’s best moments straight to your feed. She’s interviewed icons like Charli XCX and Channel Tres, worked with brands like Coach, Cider and BBC Sounds, and always knows what’s trending before it blows up.

John specialises in helping publishing businesses unlock the power of their data and embrace AI to drive operational efficiency and better monetise their audiences. With over two decades of experience spanning both publisher and client-side roles, he brings a unique blend of commercial acumen and technical know-how, having worked across digital media, gaming, and tech sectors. John has held senior roles at leading media and publishing businesses including Yahoo!, Spiceworks, Dennis Publishing, and Autovia, where he led data-driven transformations and built strategies to deepen audience engagement and scale commercial impact. His approach is grounded in simplifying complexity - translating the buzzwords of data and AI into practical, actionable strategies that deliver measurable results. As the founder of Get2Growth, John brings a rare blend of hands-on expertise and strategic insight to the challenges publishers face today. He’s passionate about helping media businesses shift from legacy mindsets to data-driven, AI-enabled models that unlock real value and growth.

With over 25 years of experience in publishing and media, Maria Pieri has played a pivotal role in shaping the direction of APL Media. As Editorial Director for more than 17 years, she led a team of over 70 professionals, delivering award-winning content across both print and digital platforms. Since 2010, Maria has overseen the editorial strategy for National Geographic Traveller (UK) and its associated products, including the Food magazine and the Food Festival while also developing the Living360 brand.

In the past decade, Maria has expanded her leadership remit as Chief Operating Officer, taking charge of HR, recruitment, IT, technology, and operations. Her industry influence includes serving as a committee member of the British Society of Magazine Editors (BSME) and holding the position of BSME Chair in 2020.

Passionate about developing emerging talent, Maria co-founded the Travel Media Awards’ *Step Up* youth internship scheme and launched APL Media’s entry-level internship programme — further reinforcing her commitment to nurturing the next generation of media professionals.

Graeme started as a financial journalist at a web start up during the dot com boom and has seen the challenges of legacy businesses transitioning from print to digital from the inside during his 19 years at FT Specialist.

Having risen through the ranks from reporter to his current managing editor role one of his biggest challenges now is ensuring FT Specialist is fit to face the challenges AI is setting for the media industry, not least how to harness it to work more efficiently and to provide more customer value whilst the competition from both media and non-media rivals intensifies.

Beau Jackson is media editor at Campaign UK and helped launch and host the brand's first Media Week Live conference. Media Week Live is an event designed for and by professionals in the early stages of their media career. The first event was held on 25 January 2025 and a follow up is planned for 2026.

Georgia Shepheard is the Senior Social Manager at British Vogue, where she is responsible for developing and executing the brand's social media strategy across print, digital, and events. Georgia has been instrumental in enhancing British Vogue's presence on various social platforms, engaging a diverse audience, and driving the brand's digital growth, with @BritishVogue's TikTok following +175% and 1.17 billion Instagram impressions made in the past 12 months under her leadership.

Jenna Abbott is the Operations Director at Shard Financial Media, leading company and event operations across events, marketing, data, digital, community, content, and membership teams. She drives the success of a diverse portfolio of face-to-face events, roundtables, and digital forums. As a key member of Shard's leadership team and board, Jenna has played a pivotal role in the evolution of Credit Strategy. She launched initiatives like Premium Membership, helping transform the business from a traditional subscription model to a customer-centric premium membership offering. She was also instrumental in the launch of the Women & Diversity in Credit Conference and Awards, and the award-winning Credit Week, which earned PPA Independent Award for Event of the Year and Relaunch of the Year. A passionate advocate for diversity and inclusion, Jenna founded the Women & Diversity in Credit Steering Committee and created a mentoring programme for underrepresented talent in financial services. She also serves on the PPA Event Professionals Group, championing innovation and excellence in the industry.

Tara is known for her deeply considered, first-principle approach to teaching. She simplifies complex ideas, making them accessible, relevant, and personally meaningful. Her method goes beyond mere instruction; it’s a process of internalising and adapting her expertise to meet the immediate needs of her audience. This reflective approach allows Tara to create transformative learning experiences that empower others to think critically and build confidently on their own knowledge. Her sessions are highly interactive, with a strong focus on shifting perspectives and encouraging actual application.

Drawing on her background in AI, digital transformation and operations, Tara ensures her workshops extend beyond technical skills. She encourages a culture of strategic thinking and continuous growth. A committed advocate for inclusivity, she views AI as a powerful tool for levelling the playing field, particularly in supporting neurodivergent allyship and promoting equitable digital access. Tara has delivered AI training and workshops to various organisations, including global healthcare leader Pfizer and top law firm Burges Salmon. She has also shared insights on AI and privacy in *Forbes*, contributing to the wider conversation on responsible and inclusive AI adoption.

Adriana has over 25 years experience in TMT strategy consulting, research and M&A, having led projects in print and digital publishing, IPTV/OTT video, software services, broadband and broadcast infrastructure.

Adriana started her career at McKinsey, Telefónica, and an M&A boutique in Brazil/Spain. She later worked for Ovum Consulting UK (now Omdia) as director for transaction support projects and for Farncombe (now Cartesian) as head of Strategy Practice. Adriana graduated as a journalist and is part of the Institution of Engineers (IET) Media Network Committee.

John Innes Executive Director, Think Think is the UK’s leading membership publisher creating digital content, print magazines, podcasts and virtual events on behalf of more than 50 organisations including the National Trust for Scotland, Historic Scotland, CAMRA, The Arts Society, Royal Photographic Society, Whale and Dolphin Conservation and Chartered Management Institute and the Association of Project Managers.

Before joining Think John worked in traditional consumer publishing on titles including Sight & Sound, Viz, Fortean Times and Gardens Illustrated.

Kerin kicked off in magazines in late 1995 working for Felix Dennis on the just-launched The Week, where he ran the business side of the magazine – particularly focussed on subscription growth. He launched MoneyWeek in 2001, and then ran Felix’s consumer magazines – including Maxim and its overseas expansion to become the world's best selling mens lifestyle magazine, plus Viz, Men’s Fitness, Bizarre and other fun things. The Week US launched 2001 and continues to this day. The Week became Britain’s fastest news growing magazine, recording 19 consecutive ABC increases and was the UK's best selling news magazine. Kerin launched The Week Junior in 2015, the UK’s largest children’s magazine and followed up with a US edition in 2020.

In October 2022 he founded Atlas, a strategic consultancy to help media clients grow their recurring revenue businesses; is clients include The Guardian, Haymarket, Google and The New Scientist. Atlas operates in the UK and US.

Lettie is a Senior Manager at FT Strategies. She has over 10 years of experience in management consulting and in-house strategy, with previous roles at L.E.K. Consulting and Bulb Energy. She has worked across consumer and media industries, helping companies achieve their growth ambitions, enter into new markets and launch new products and services.

Gideon Spanier has been UK editor-in-chief of Campaign since 2020, after joining as head of media in 2015 to cover media owners, agencies and brands. He previously worked as a business journalist for the London Evening Standard, The Times and The Independent and started his career at CNN in London.

Alex Wood Morton is Fortune's executive editor overseeing expansion in Europe. He was most recently managing director in Europe at Forbes, responsible for growing the magazine across the region. Alex is also a former entrepreneur and started his own digital trends magazine, The Memo, which Forbes acquired in 2018, cementing his love for education and entrepreneurship

Mimi Turner is a brand-builder and strategist with a track record of delivering transformational outcomes in media, marketing and politics. She is Head of Marketplace Innovation at LinkedIn and is a Fellow of the B2B Institute, helping to shape the research and IP creation that redefines B2B marketing and advertising success, including work with Bain & Company and co-authoring the Harvard Business Review featured research piece The Right Way To Build Your Brand. Previously she was Director of Strategy, Messaging and Research at the Liberal Democrats, the first Marketing Director of The LAD Bible Group, and Marketing Director of The Health Lottery. Mimi was special advisor to The Cairncross Review, the government inquiry into the future of high-quality journalism. She began her career as a science journalist with the Sunday Times and the Times newspapers.

Dominic Ponsford is a journalist specialising in media from a B2B standpoint. Editor in chief of Press Gazette. Changed the law with Press Gazette's Save Our Sources campaign. Launched British Journalism Awards, Future of Media Awards and Future of Media Technology conference. Press Gazette comprises a daily email newsletter, website, fortnightly podcast and a suite of events

Terry is a seasoned Digital and Innovation Director with over 20 years of experience in driving digital revenue and product growth for publishers, advertisers, and digital platforms. As a senior digital leader, Terry has extensive expertise in product management, operations, data strategy, and all facets of digital marketing.

In 2019, Terry founded and launched Mantis to offer contextual solutions with built-in brand safety and suitability for publishers, brands and advertisers. Powered by natural language AI, Mantis helps create a more efficient, transparent advertising ecosystem. With a proven track record of delivering innovative digital solutions, Terry continues to be an industry leader in digital strategy and technology