Zillah Byng-Thorne's guest appearances

Zillah Byng-Thorne

The Digiday Podcast

Media Masters

Intelligence Squared: Business

Meet the CEO from Positive Momentum

Gillian Tett

Andrew Waugh

Dave Lee

Chris Mason

Mike Williams

David Starkey

Tim Harford

Joshua Foer

Andrew Chen

Chris Anderson

Herman Narula

Douglas Murray

Amanda Knox

Emily Wilson

Tina Brown

OwlTail

E43: Zillah Byng-Thorne, formerly Future plc

Zillah Byng-Thorne is chief executive of Future plc. Founded in 1985, the leading publisher produces some of the UK’s most popular magazines, including Country Life, FourFourTwo, Marie Claire and The Week. Joining Future in 2014, Zillah has presided over a spectacular turnaround in the company’s fortunes - publishing 160 titles, and expanding the brand’s portfolio to include video games and digital magazines; and in 2020, they ventured into e-commerce, purchasing insurance company GoCompare.com for £590m. Under Zillah’s watch, their share price has soared, and the company is now valued at £4bn. In this in-depth interview, she shares her career journey - starting out as an accountant in working-class Glasgow before a dramatic pivot saw her set her sights on leading a large company, starting with a masters in behavioural change to build her leadership skills; shares the secrets behind Future’s strategy, resulting in 80% growth and £600m+ revenue despite the pandemic; and passionately argues that Future “has a moral responsibility, as much as a business responsibility, to maintain the quality and accuracy of its content.”

Zillah Byng-Thorne is chief executive of Future plc. Founded in 1985, the leading publisher produces some of the UK’s most popular magazines, including Country Life, FourFourTwo, Marie Claire and The Week. Joining Future in 2014, Zillah has presided over a spectacular turnaround in the company’s fortunes - publishing 160 titles, and expanding the brand’s portfolio to include video games and digital magazines; and in 2020, they ventured into e-commerce, purchasing insurance company <a href="http://gocompare.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">GoCompare.com</a> for £590m. Under Zillah’s watch, their share price has soared, and the company is now valued at £4bn. In this in-depth interview, she shares her career journey - starting out as an accountant in working-class Glasgow before a dramatic pivot saw her set her sights on leading a large company, starting with a masters in behavioural change to build her leadership skills; shares the secrets behind Future’s strategy, resulting in 80% growth and £600m+ revenue despite the pandemic; and passionately argues that Future “has a moral responsibility, as much as a business responsibility, to maintain the quality and accuracy of its content.”

Zillah Byng-Thorne - CEO of Future plc

Zillah Byng-Thorne is CEO of Future, the UK’s biggest magazine publishing group. With a stable of over 160 titles across print and online including recent acquisitions such as Wallpaper and The Week, Future is a truly multifaceted business and its CEO has also returned the group to record profits in recent years. She talks to Jeremy Leslie, Creative Director of the site, design consultancy and shop covering all things magazines: magCulture, to discuss how to keep a major publishing business moving forward. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Zillah Byng-Thorne is CEO of Future, the UK’s biggest magazine publishing group. With a stable of over 160 titles across print and online including recent acquisitions such as Wallpaper and The Week, Future is a truly multifaceted business and its CEO has also returned the group to record profits in recent years. She talks to Jeremy Leslie, Creative Director of the site, design consultancy and shop covering all things magazines: magCulture, to discuss how to keep a major publishing business moving forward. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://megaphone.fm/adchoices" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">megaphone.fm/adchoices</a>

The Future of publishing, with Zillah Byng-Thorne

Zillah Byng-Thorne is the CEO of Future plc, publisher of many best-selling magazines and media brands. In this in-depth interview, she walks through her career from accountant to media CEO; explains how a relentless focus on profit put the company back in the black from a £35m loss, searching for new revenue streams and fighting back against adblockers; and shares her ideas to get more senior women in the media.

Media Masters - Zillah Byng-Thorne