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3 mins read

Meet The Board of The Independent Publishers Alliance

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The Independent Publishers Alliance was established in early 2021 to support, represent and connect independent publishers and to advocate for their interests. It focuses on publishers falling within the following parameters:

  • Members are Independent Publishers
  • Members have a strong digital presence
  • Members are not Private Equity or VC owned
  • Interested in the betterment of digital publishing and prepared to be active in this pursuit

The board of the Alliance is made up of a cross-section of media and publishing professionals from across the UK who are giving up their time at no cost to help represent and advocate on behalf of their members:

Alex Newberry

Alex has been working in digital media for 11 years. Starting at Haymarket Publishing and working at Independent Publishers such as Crash Media and The Official Charts. He is now CRO of Content Ignite and was a co-founder of The Alliance with Jon Westbrook and Dan Hodgson, based on the differing experiences he faced going from small publishers into big tech.

“I am immensely proud of what we have achieved to date with The Alliance and really feel we are providing a service that has been desperately needed. Bringing highly experienced independent publishers such as Gemma and Chris onto the Alliance board seemed like the next natural step and will really help us to grow.”

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-newberry-773a5146/

Dan Hodgson

Dan has been working in digital media for 11 years. He started at Haymarket Publishing before moving on to head up the publishing department at National Rail. He founded the Alliance alongside his co-founders to empower like-minded publishers to come together to share ideas and give them a bigger voice within the wider market.

“The Alliance is here to bring about knowledge sharing amongst its members and advocacy for its members to the wider market. I’m very proud of the work we have set out to do and I hope as it grows we can effect real positive change.”

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniele-hodgson-496a7370/

Jon Westbrook

Jon has been selling advertising space and either working with or for media businesses for 33 years. Jon has spent the last 5 years at Sovrn, most recently supporting independent publishers with their ad set-ups and strategies.

“I felt most fulfilled and did most of my best work when working for and with Independent publishers. Decisions get made quickly and we could produce editorial products that could upset the norm from established publishers and brands. This extends to my own personal choices – my most valued and heavily visited sites are produced by Independents. 

“I am really excited about the Alliance and how it can bring disparate businesses together and get them talking and sharing ideas, their successes and their pain. Viva Independents!”

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/videomc/

Gemma Reeves

Gemma heads up revenue operations at AVForums.com, home of the UK’s busiest Home Entertainment Tech community and in-depth, impartial news & reviews.

Having started her career in finance at a traditional print publisher, Gemma then spent the next 11yrs working in tech strategy & ops for a global investment bank. She’s since returned to her publishing roots, helping AVForums develop, and execute against, their revenue growth strategy.

“I’m super excited to be joining the Alliance board, bringing a fresh viewpoint and representing niche independent publishers. I couldn’t be more bought into the mission to champion, support & connect. We finally have a network fit for small to mid-tier pubs! I’m especially looking forward to helping grow the community and exploring opportunities opened up by amplifying our collective voice.”

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gemma-reeves-a130a716/

Chris Dicker

Chris has been in media for over 18 years where he specialised in creating commercial teams and new revenue streams. More recently he led the management buyout of Trusted Reviews away from TI-Media where he currently works as Managing And Executive Board Director.

“I feel honored to have been asked to join the board of The Alliance and look forward to meeting and helping other independent publishers in the coming weeks and beyond.”

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisdicker/