ACE governing committee

The ACE governing committee meets five times each year and is made up from representatives of publishers, wholesalers, distributors and most recently retailers. The committee is in place to develop the association and ensure that it delivers the aims and objectives as stated in the governing rules, these being; 

• to promote a wider knowledge, understanding and value of the circulation function
• to communicate its activities to all other sections of the newspaper, magazine and periodical industry
• to act as a forum for the discussion of industry issues with all parties concerned with the distribution and sale of the press and encourage ever improving excellence in all aspects of the press distribution channel
• to encourage friendship and strong relationships among the membership 
• to provide support for individuals who, in the Governing Committee’s opinion, qualify for sponsorship to enhance their skills within the press channel.

The committee has three elected positions these being, Chairman, Vice Chairman and Honorary Treasurer. Each role to serve a one year term of office.

Currently sitting on the ACE governing committee are:

Sharon Douglas, Chair | Shona Keith - Immediate Past Chairman and Treasurer | Mark O'Connor | Jonathan Bunting | Joe Clark | Tracey Coyne | Tracey Hart | Martin Hoskins | Nick Howitt | Adrian Hughes | Adele Nash | Steve Easton | David Cooke | Richard Thomson | Natalie Murphy | John Lennon | Darren Barker |

Sharon DouglasSharon Douglas
ACE Committee, Chair
Having spent nearly 20 years in newspaper and magazine circulation I am delighted to say that I am certainly no expert ….every day I learn something new. As Group Circ and Marketing Director for the National Magazine Company, I surely must have one of the best jobs in town. NatMags is really quite a special company. Before NatMags, I spent the majority of my career at the Mirror (now Trinity Mirror). What an adrenalin rush that was! The highs and lows of Dianagate… the stream of editors who scared the living daylights out of me (but became great friends in time). There were other jobs in between but these two are my favourites. Of course I have ACE to thank for 20 wonderful years. The call from the Mirror came the day after I won ACE’s “Outstanding Young Achiever” Award. I have also always remembered the words that Alan Thompson said when he won the ACE “Lifetime Achievement” Award many years ago. He said “whatever you do in this industry, don’t forget to stop and smell the flowers from time to time”. Simple and very lovely. Outside work, my flowers take the form of live music indie, rock, summer festivals and even a little punk now and again. And my ambition in life?? To get back to having pink hair just as I did in my teens!

 
Shona KeithShona Keith
ACE Committee, Immediate Past Chairman and Treasurer
My career started out training in Chartered Accountants office in Aberdeen what seems many years ago (!) and then moved down in 1990 to the South East as Financial Controller/General Manager for an Oil Service Company, whose head office was originally up in Aberdeen, the Oil Capital of Europe. I joined the Rubin Group in New York in 1996 involved setting up the London office and working over in US, and have now owned Focusmedia since its inception in 1998. Focusmedia Global represent The New York Times for International Sales and Distribution in Europe and the Middle East. Focusmedia International provides both a "direct to retail" service within Central London, importer providing wholesale distribution within the UK and limited distribution to non-traditional outlets. I have been on the ACE Governing Committee for 6 years and enjoyed very much the privelege of being Chairman in 2009 but happily continuing my role within ACE as Immediate Past Chairman and Treasurer. As a family, my fiancee, 6 year old daughter and I  love to travel or have weekends away, theatre, concerts, shopping (!) and always time free for the wonderful, infamous ACE functions!!!!!!

 

 Mark O'Connor
ACE Committee
I have worked in logistics and distribution since leaving school, the last 23 years has been with CEVA Newsfast (formerly TNT). During my time with CEVA I have covered many roles in operations and sales based at locations from Southampton, Surrey, London and now Leicestershire. The publishing logistics supply chain is a thoroughly enjoyable and constantly challenging arena to work in (I am still here after 23 years which must prove this, either that or I harbour sadistic tendencies!). I have also been a committee member of ACE for the over 4 years and am currently Chairman for 2008. I am not aware of another industry where competitors engage, socialize and integrate as well as they do at the ACE events, which makes working in the industry very rewarding at times. Other interests include: Football ('Playing' career now over after rupturing achilles tendon this year), Season ticket holder Chelsea FC. 

Jon BuntingJonathan Bunting
Chief Commercial Officer - Smiths News PLC
ACE Committee Member
Jonathan Bunting was appointed as Chief Commercial Officer on 1 March 2010, and will join the Smiths News Board as an executive director from 1 April 2010. Jonathan joined the Company as a graduate trainee in 1994, subsequently holding various roles in sales and marketing. In 2001 he was appointed Trade Marketing Director and in 2006 he became Commercial Director of Smiths News. In his new role of Chief Commercial Officer, Jonathan is responsible for Smiths News commercial and trading relationship with its newspaper and magazine clients and retail customers. In addition he is also responsible for optimising the commercial opportunities across the range of group businesses, including Instore Field Marketing, Rascal Solutions, and Bertrams, as well as the broader diversification strategy of the Smiths News Group

Joe Clark
ACE Committee Member
Biography not supplied.

Tracey Coyne
ACE Committee Member
Biography not supplied.

Tracey Hart
National Sales Manager
ACE Committee Member
I have been employed by Associated Newspapers for the past 2.5 years as National Sales Manager responsible for the sales and marketing team. This is my first taste of the newspaper world having spent my career to date in FMCG companies such as Cadburys, General Food and Polaroid. Within 2 months of joining Associated I was fortunate to be invited to join the first ACE Ashridge Programme. This enabled me to gain a fast track knowledge of the industry and also to network with people from the world of Wholesale, Magazines and Newspapers. I am looking forward to joining the ACE committee to become more involved in many of their great ideas to bring the industry together. 

Martin Hoskins
Trade Marketing Director for BBC Magazines
ACE Committee member
Martin Hoskins is Trade Marketing Director for BBC Magazines a division of BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of the BBC. BBC Magazine is the third largest consumer magazine publisher in the UK selling almost one hundred million copies every year. Martin has extensive experience of the news trade industry working in both distribution and publishing. He has worked for BBC Magazines for 7 years in a number of roles. He started his career at BBC Magazines as Head of Retail Marketing then moved into a Head of Circulation role before taking up the position of Trade Marketing Director. Prior to working at BBC Magazines , Martin spent 5 years at the distributor Frontline, in a variety of multiple retailer facing roles. He joined as a Regional Sales Manager before moving into a National Account Manager role and then as a Channel Controller. Martin started his career in the fmcg industry working for Rank Hovis McDougall. He joined as a graduate trainee, as a sales territory manager, and spent 7 years in a number of commercial sales roles. Martin is married with one son and enjoys any spare time he gets trying to hone his swing on the golf course. 

Nick Howitt
Director of Retail, Circulation and Business Intelligence for Bauer Media
ACE Committee member
Nick Howitt is Director of Retail, Circulation and Business Intelligence for Bauer Media, a division of the Bauer Publishing Group and Europe’s largest privately-owned publishing company. In the UK, Bauer Media own more than eighty influential media brands spanning a wide range of interests, including heat, GRAZIA, Closer, MCN, FHM, Parker's, MATCH, Magic 105.4, Kiss 100, Kerrang!, all-new Q Radio and the Big City Network, a group of twenty local radio stations. Collectively, the Bauer Publishing Group employs some 6,400 people and has a 2007 turnover of 1.79 billion Euros. Nick was previously Retail and Circulation Director for Emap Consumer Media. Bauer Media joined the Bauer Publishing Group in January 2008 following acquisition of Emap plc’s consumer and specialist magazines, radio, TV, online and digital businesses. Nick has extensive experience within the Newstrade industry, working directly for both publishers and distributors as well as 7 years successfully running his own consultancy company. During his time as a consultant Nick worked with, amongst others, ipc Media, Marketforce, Trinity Mirror, BBC Worldwide, Frontline and Hello! Before joining the media world Nick was a marketing consultant at the world’s leading advertising evaluation company, assessing the impact of advertising and other marketing factors for companies such as Walkers Crisps, Rowntrees, Prudential Insurance, Scott (makers of Andrex) and Allied Breweries (Tetley Bitter and Castlemaine XXXX). Nick is married with two children and when he gets any time is easily enticed onto a golf course, tennis court or ski piste.

 Adrian Hughes

Adrian Hughes

IPC Circulation Director, Marketforce
ACE Committee Member

Adrian Hughes is Group Circulation Director for IPC Media, one of the largest magazine publishers in the UK and part of Time Warner. Adrian has extensive experience within the Newstrade industry & 10 years experience within Marketforce; prior to joining Marketforce Adrian worked in a number of circulation roles at publisher D.C.Thomson & Co Ltd and prior to that with wholesaler, Smiths News. Adrian joined Marketforce in 1997 where he spent 3 years within the Retail Sales team working with some of the leading UK retailers before joining the Independent Publisher Group as Group Circulation Manager in 1999 managing leading blue-chip publisher clients before taking up a position in the IPC circulation team. Adrian served as Deputy Circulation Director for IPC before his appointment to Group Circulation Director in 2006, where his team work alongside the IPC publishing groups to create circulation strategies for each of the IPC brands in order to meet all aspects of the company's objectives.

 Adele Nash
Higgs International Ltd/DHL
ACE Committee Member
After working for UK distributors Comag and Seymour from 1986 - 1995, as an account handler on UK and imports, I took a natural career break (one daughter now 16!), then joined WWMS Inc as European territory manager and later managed the export department in the USA. I decided to leave New York and head back to the UK as my daughter was developing a thick American accent and in May 2008 I joined Business Week European edition as newsstand manager for Europe, Middle East and Africa, until its closure in December 2005. In April 2006 I joined Higgs where I am currently Publisher Account Manager. I spend my spare time running a pseudo-taxi service and planting money trees in the garden, which have sadly failed to bear fruit for the 10th year running. If I have any spare time left after that, I try to play tennis whenever I can, and to play golf rarely and badly!!

 David Cooke

David Cooke
Commercial and Marketing Director Menzies Distribution
ACE Committee Member
I started my career at Tesco joining as a graduate in 1988 in the Stock Management Division initially based in Cheshunt before moving to help set up a new operation in Cardiff working across a number of food areas including packet goods, Confectionary, Soft Drinks and Frozen Food. I thenrelocated back to Cheshunt where I switched to the Commercial stream buying Desserts and Ice Cream in Frozen Foods before moving onto Health and Beauty managing the Toiletries area. My first encounters with ACE followed in 2004 when I took over the role as Senior Buying Manager for News and Magazines before gaining Greetings Cards and Books to head up the Papershop Category for Tesco. In September 2009 I joined Menzies in my current role as Commercial and Marketing Director and later that year was delighted to accept Sharon Douglas’s invitation to join the ACE general Council.
 
 

Richard ThomsonRichard Thomson
Group Newspaper Sales Manager Newsquest Media Group Ltd.
ACE Committee Member
Richard Thomson joined Newsquest Media Group, the second largest regional media publisher in the UK, in 2006 having spent most of his 15 year career in the industry with Associated Newspapers.  Richard is responsible for the Groups Newspaper Sales and Distribution strategy, whilst focusing much of his time establishing and driving best practice across a business operating out of nearly 30 sites, with over 300 circulation and distribution personnel. 

Natalie Murphy
FT Circulation Manager
ACE Committee Member
I have worked in the news industry since leaving University in 1994 following my grand-father and father into news wholesaling! I started at Smith News leaving in 1999 where I was a National Newspaper Account Manager. I then joined the FT and was appointed Circulation Manager in 2004. I am responsible for all wholesale and retail activity across the UK and Ireland. I attended the first ACE Ashridge programme which enabled me to network with people I may never of had the opportunity of doing so and to learn more about the other aspects of our great industry. I have made some great friends over the years and ACE is probably responsible for many of them! Outside of work I am often travelling all over the UK and further a field supporting my friends in their full time show-jumping careers which I used to do myself until I got a proper job!

John Lennon
Managing Director Association of Convenience Stores
ACE Committee Member
Biography not supplied.

Darren Barker
Head of DTR Operations News International
ACE Committee Member
I have been involved in newspapers for the last twenty years in both the publisher and wholesale sectors.
I joined the industry in 1990 as a Trainee Manager with John Menzies Wholesale at their Middlesborough depot, spending nine years with Menzies before leaving in 1999 to join News International.
My initial role was Wholesale Area Manager in the North East. Following two years in the field I took the plunge to move down south for an office based role in Wapping, working on supply allocation. I undertook a number of positions including Deputy Head of Wholesale and Retail Operations before becoming involved in Direct to Retail.
My current position as Head of Direct To Retail Operations is a relatively new role and involves me in many areas of NI’s route to market strategy. I joined the ACE Governing Committee in January 2009.