Then again, the particular lads' mag that Pullan runs is the global giant FHM, and his responsibilities for the brand cover editions in 28 countries with a worldwide turnover of 拢100m.
With five previous employers under his belt, the initial impression that 36-year-old Pullan gives is that he has struggled to find a home for his talents.
Nevertheless, talking earnestly to a Harvard MBA graduate about 'nipple counts' in French titles, downloading snaps of semi-naked women onto 3G phones, and the commercial potential of FHM agony aunt Abi Titmuss, seems distinctly odd. One wonders what his Methodist lay-preacher father makes of what his son does for a living.
Now a father himself, with two boys, his main interests outside of FHM are music and Leeds United. His love of the former stems from his earlier career at record company BMG, where he also made a few contacts among pop superstars. Pullan recounts with pride how Kylie Minogue once warmly embraced him during a chance encounter in an airport lounge, to the astonishment of his fellow travellers.
Pullan insists that the Harvard MBA, his time at McKinsey and moving between media companies are all part of a 'master plan' to create the ultimate rounded CV. The plan certainly appears to be working and he has already won the top spot in the Marketing Power 100 Next Generation survey.
TBWA\London managing director Jonathan Mildenhall, who worked with Pullan at MTV and Five, says FHM owner Emap is the perfect home for his former client. Mildenhall reckons Pullan is destined for the very top of the company. 'He's incredibly bright, his creative instinct rivals that of a creative director and he has balls,' he says. He adds that Pullan can be a control freak, but adds that 'people who are so strategically and creatively strong often are'.
Pullan has had quite short tenures in some of his jobs, but those who have worked with him claim he has always delivered results before moving on.
'In the 18 months he was at Five, he reviewed media and creative agencies and rebranded and repositioned the channel, adding value to the business,' says Mildenhall.
Emap's multimedia nature should provide Pullan with the constant stimulus he needs, but before climbing the company ladder Pullan has to prove himself on FHM, which he joined last June. His first mission was to oversee a 拢2.5m relaunch of the UK edition of the magazine in August, to counter competition intensified by the launch of lads' weeklies Zoo and Nuts.
It has had some success, with sales up 1.1% in the second half of 2004.
The US market, where FHM 's sales of 1.2m are only half those of its rival Maxim, presents Pullan with a bigger challenge. US newsstand sales have suffered in the past year - FHM's dropped by 5% and Maxim's by 17%.
Another of Pullan's challenges is to break into Italy and Japan, the last two big magazine markets that have yet to embrace FHM culture. According to Pullan, each international edition is adapted to local tastes and the raunchiest FHMs are to be found in France and the Philippines.
Pullan's remit also includes globally building FHM sub-brands - High Street Honeys and 100 Sexiest Women. The development of a third such brand was high on the agenda at a recent 'G7' meeting of the publishers of FHM's seven biggest editions.
However, even if Pullan achieves all these goals - and no matter how high he rises in the echelons of Emap - one suspects the memory of a clinch with Kylie will remain a high-point of his career.
CAREER HISTORY
1993-1998: Executive assistant to the chairman, BMG UK; UK head of
interactive entertainment; marketing director for music label
Deconstruction.
1998-1999: Senior adviser rights strategy, BBC
1999-2002: Vice-president marketing and communications, then
vice-president marketing and digital channels, MTV UK & Ireland
2002-2004: Marketing and strategy director, Five
2004-present: Managing director, FHM Worldwide