Monday
It's Bank Holiday Monday and the end of my blissful holiday in Italy. I spend my final day drinking my last glasses of Italian wine, eating far too much pasta, hanging out with my two teenage boys and generally enjoying the calm before the storm.
I deliberately chose a destination about as far from Wi-Fi as I could find – in deepest, darkest, beautiful Umbria, so I'm already anticipating swapping the rolling hills for the virtual mountain of emails that I know will await me on my return to the office tomorrow.
Tuesday
It's a hideous 6am start and not the quietest one. I drive into work from Richmond every day and today I am especially keen to make early headway on those emails. Creeping out of the house, so as not to wake the rest of my sleeping family, I inadvertently set off my car alarm (a clear complaint about how long it had been abandoned), waking the entire street.
I'm a bit of a petrol head and love driving, which also allows me to listen to the radio – I’m a Radio 4 devotee, so this is one of my favourite times of the day.
Despite an inauspicious start, I'm pleased to find my week is looking pretty clear and very internally focused (no glamorous parties or client entertaining for me this week) to catch up on everything I've missed.
After ploughing through hundreds of emails, my first meeting of the day is about Esquire Weekly – our pioneering weekly tablet magazine, scheduled for launch on 5 September, which everyone is very excited about.
I end the day with a fantastic welcome home from my golden retriever, safely back from kennels and far more interested in me than my grunting teenagers engrossed in their tablets are.
Wednesday
I make time to read through the October issues of Esquire and Harper's Bazaar that have thudded onto my desk.
I love the moment of introduction to a newly printed issue – it's still amazing to me that we are able to reinvent ourselves every month and I always get a thrill turning the pages and immersing myself in our brilliant journalism and beautiful photography.
At 10am, I listen to Harper’s Bazaar Editor Justine Picardie's interview on Radio 4's 'Women's Hour', discussing the Virginia Woolf short story published in our September issue; Woolf was one of the early contributors to Bazaar, and Justine is busy re-engaging with our literary heritage and has launched a literary prize. I am always impressed by how warm and articulate she is.
Next, a meeting with Henry Windridge, our brilliant marketing manger to get an update on his plans for alternative distribution in the second half. This year we've made some great partnerships for Harper's Bazaar with cultural institutions like the V+A, the Tate and PAD, the Pavilion of Art and Design.
Meanwhile, on the digital front, I finish the day meeting with Sacha Bonsor and the Harper's Bazaar web team and learn that Harper's Bazaar online has just passed the 220,000 monthly unique users mark, growth of 46% since January 2013, and something for which the team can be justifiably proud.
Thursday
A positive start to the day with updates from the sales teams and news that November ad numbers are up on both Esquire and Harper's Bazaar, continuing a trend we've enjoyed all year. I feel thankful not only for such talented sales professionals, but also for the resilience of the luxury sector, and London's position as global shop window for this industry.
Next up, an Esquire meeting to review what the team has prepped for the Esquire Symposium in the US later in September. This is a much-anticipated annual get-together of all the international publishers and editors – almost like a mini United Nations with 20 countries represented. Editor Alex Bilmes and I spend time reviewing the decks and messaging.
This is followed by a status meeting with the team from Quintessentially who will be managing Esquire Weekly’s launch event on 9 September.
Start the afternoon catching up with Alun Williams, publishing director of Men's Health on how we can support each other and leverage our style and their scale. We agree that Esquire will promote their upcoming event with Harrods, while Men’s Health will support the launch of Esquire Weekly.
It’s great to be able to leverage the Hearst portfolio like this – one of the benefits of having 20 magazine and digital brands and a group of like-minded and supportive colleagues.
Finish the day with an extremely interesting meeting with Andrew Matthews at pioneering outdoor communications agency Posterscope, discussing how we can use intelligent advertising to support the Esquire brand.
Friday
Great start to the day – the Esquire Weekly app has been approved by Apple. So we're all set for launch on 5 September – there's a sense of relief all round as this was a major milestone for us.
Spend the morning with Alex Bilmes and team, discussing his plans for new editorial workflow ahead of the launch of Esquire Weekly. The new tablet title has a revolutionary design and has been built specifically for the tablet platform, with 100% original content. This means that the different teams, for example the wonderful Catherine Hayward and her fashion team, need to think about how they can maximize the assets from every shoot to work across every platform – print, online and now tablet.
I finish my four-day week writing an executive briefing on Esquire Weekly for our chief executive Arnaud de Puyfontaine. He'll be doing a series of interviews next week talking about Hearst's digital development and making reference to Esquire Weekly. My passion for this project is tempered by the knowledge that he’ll only want five or six bullet points.
Having composed this, I'm homeward bound in need of a soothing glass of Italian wine.
Age: 45 – but it’s very rude to ask
Favourite media: glossy magazines – did you even need to ask?
My biggest inspiration: my current chief executive – as above
Dream job: racing driver, failing that, trophy wife
Not a lot of people know: that I've owned a Jaguar XK120 and am currently scheming for an E-Type
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