Contagious / Marketing, Tech, Consumer Culture

Paul Kemp-Robertson / Editorial Director & Co-Founder

After graduating with a master’s degree from Goldsmiths’ College in London, Paul started his career at corporate communications firm Maritz before helping to launch shots magazine in 1990. After a spell in commercials production, Paul returned to shots and became editor in 1994. Subscriptions trebled under his tenure.

In 1998 he succeeded Donald Gunn as Leo Burnett’s worldwide director of creative resources in Chicago. Reporting to Michael Conrad, Paul was responsible for the agency’s Great Commercials intranet site and its quarterly creative councils, known as the Global Product Committee.

Paul left Leo Burnett in 2004 to co-found Contagious, which sees Paul reunited with shots founder Gee Thomson.

Paul has written numerous articles for publications including Business 2.0, the Guardian, Hollywood Reporter and M&M Europe, as well as co-editing D&AD’s The Commercials Book. He has appeared on BBC Radio 4’s The Today Programme and 5 Live’s Wake Up To Money and is a member of the SuperBrands Council.

He is married with three children and lives in St Albans, Hertfordshire.

Emily Hare / Managing Editor

Emily graduated from Exeter University in 2004 where she did an English degree, following a year spent teaching in China. Shortly afterwards, she became one of the first members of the Contagious team, and is now the company’s Production Editor. She has helped to build the Contagious consultancy, offering advice and insight to a number of clients from both agencies and advertisers.

Emily has spoken at international conferences, such as ad:tech, London and Meribel Ad Festival, and internal agency/client events including Lowe Worldwide, Publicis and Bacardi.

Gee Thomson / Co-founder and Editorial Consultant

After graduating from Central St Martin’s School of Art in London, Gee worked at several television companies, including the BBC and Thames TV. In 1990 he co-founded Shots magazine, a global resource for the commercials production industry.

Thomson was also a joint owner of Vinestone Developments, which successfully developed 21 Dean Street into luxury apartments, restaurants and a theatre in conjunction with the UK Lottery Foundation.

In 2004, Gee co-founded Contagious with Paul Kemp-Robertson. He is author of Mesmerization (Thames & Hudson 2009), a book that explores the ‘cultural spells’ that influence contemporary global behaviour.

Georgia Malden / Head of Operations and Insider Consultant

With degrees in Classics (‘useful for anything’) and Classical Art behind her, Georgia spent stints at Lastminute.com and Sotheby’s before trying to convince businesses in London to go green by using her electric van delivery service.

Georgia joined Xtreme Information, co-founders of Contagious, in 2002 as head of web strategy and Insights consultant. In 2006, she launched Directory, the first quarterly showcase of the best in direct marketing from around the world, before joining the Contagious team in 2008.

Georgia divides her time between editing Contagious’ series of special reports, managing the company’s web strategy and serving as a trends consultant at Contagious’ advisory service Contagious Insider.

Katrina Dodd / Editor, Contagious Insider

As a consultant and writer at Contagious Communications, Katrina Dodd has worked on diverse projects for BBC Worldwide, Universal Music, Louis Vuitton and Diageo while also contributing to the quarterly magazine, and delivering briefings and presentations.

She joined the team in 2006, and became the launch editor of Contagious Feed, a bespoke intelligence service delivering targeted news and insight to a wide range of agency and brand clients.

Katrina has been writing and reporting on advertising and creativity since 1996; starting out at Financial Times Management Reports, she jumped ship to join Shots magazine a year later. Her obsessive interest in moving image, magazines, fashion and popular culture has developed from there, and she has written for a variety of industry publications ever since.

Her current preoccupation is the impact of digital tech on education and the future of learning, but alongside that a passion for books, magazines and all the papery ephemera of publishing continues to thrive. As does a fascination for the psychology of retail. And lots of other more random stuff too.

Lucy Aitken / Staff Writer

Lucy took a postgraduate diploma in Journalism at City University in London where, during a spelling test on day two, she met her future husband. She cut her teeth as publications manager for the UK magazines trade body PPA and news editor at Billboard’s European weekly, Music & Media, before joining M&M Europe as associate editor where she was introduced to the heady world of international advertising.

She was headhunted by Campaign to edit special reports, and was the launch editor for the magazine’s World section. She then spent four years as a freelance writer, co-writing Profitable Marketing Communications: A Guide to Marketing ROI (Kogan-Page, 2007) and contributing to Campaign, The Guardian, Management Today, The Independent and Business Life.

Lucy is extremely proud to have written for Contagious since it launched in 2004, and joined the team as staff writer in 2008, working across the magazine, website and Contagious Feed. She lives in North London with her husband and daughter, who should grow up to be damn good at spelling.

Mirage Islam / Contributing Editor

Mirage has a history of making things happen. He is Chair of the Education and Innovation Group at the British Interactive Media Association and has been actively involved with both the British Council as an advisor to the Creative Industries unit, D&AD and the IAB. Inspiring and nurturing future talent is his passion and he is a Fellow of the RSA for his contribution to Marketing and Communications.

Mirage started his career in the Financial Services industry before moving into FMCG at Cadbury’s and then into the heady world of new media, joining breathe.com - UK’s fourth largest mobile internet portal - in 2000. There he was responsible for developing a highly popular sports channel and online communities.

Headhunted by BSkyB, he became head of the first official Partnership Programme and then Future Media Lead with Executive sponsorship, responsible for the external media strategy to target Youth Culture and engage Future Talent. Mirage further established his entrepreneurial spirit by enabling strategic industry partnerships for Sky's mobile, online and TV platforms. While at Sky he was also picked out as a potential ‘television presenter of the future’ and trained at the National Film and Television School.

As a Digital Media Consultant, Mirage is now immersed in all things digital with advertisers and their brands, media owners, publishers and youth audiences - providing innovative and fresh approaches to targeting new and existing audiences.

Neeraj Nayar / President/India Region

Over 20 years in the Advertising and Marketing Communications industry, Neeraj has organised the Cannes Festival and the Eurobest Awards, and founded The FAB Awards in London, of which he continues as Chairman. He is now Contagious’ President/India Region.

Running creative awards is his passion, and ‘great fun’, he says – ‘I’m lucky enough to see around 20,000 pieces of great creative work annually, and interact throughout the year with some of the finest creative minds on the planet. Through Contagious, I am exposed to real Contagious ideas and trends that define the future of our business. So how could work not be fun? I love it!’

When not at work, Neeraj loves nothing better than hanging out with his Greek wife Anna, a classmate from Switzerland, and his two boys, Alexandros & Karan Stefanos, whose youthful pizzazz and free-ranging ideas are an inspiration in how to ‘think out of the box’.

Sharlene Murtagh / Subscription Sales and Marketing Manager

Sharlene graduated in 2007 from Brighton University with a 2:1 Honors Degree in Business Management. After university she took on a marketing role with David Lloyd Leisure working for sites in both her hometown in Eastbourne and then also Raynes Park, South West London.

Looking to progress her career in sales, Sharlene moved to Greater London where she worked for EF Educational selling international educational tours to schools and colleges.

At the beginning of 2009 Sharlene moved to work in the heart of London with Contagious and now manages the renewals business.

Stephane Scheyven / European Sales Executive

After graduating from the European Business School, Stephane started his business career as an International Account Manager at Xtreme Information (co-owners of Contagious Communications) in 1997.

Stephane moved back to Belgium after having spent 13 years in London and joined the Contagious team in 2004. He has since then been in charge of European sales and account management for all our European clients. Stephane travels between Brussels, London and the rest of Europe to spread the word about Contagious.

Stephane is fluent in French, Spanish, Italian, Dutch and English and is passionate about new media.

Will Sansom / Writer/Consultant

Will Sansom is a consultant at Contagious Communications. He joined Contagious in 2009 as a writer and quickly began contributing to its award winning quarterly magazine – including in-depth case studies on major global brands, company profiles and trend analysis features. During this time he also helped build the Contagious Feed service into a globally-recognised intelligence resource which now delivers regular insight to a growing number of agencies and brands, including JWT, Havas, Diageo and Mattel.

As a founding member of Contagious’ Insider consultancy arm, Will now focuses on custom projects – from trend briefings to the running of creative/strategic workshops - for a diverse selection of clients including Nike, Heineken, Xbox, Kraft and Red Bull. He is also currently the most travelled of Contagious’ public speakers and has appeared at award shows and conferences across the world, including AdAsia in India, Dmexco in Germany, IMMAP in the Philippines, MIDEM in Cannes, and the Guardian's Changing Media Summit in the UK.

Nick Parish / North American Editor

A longtime journalist and editor, Nick Parish helps run London-based Contagious in North America. Nick works on Contagious' award-winning quarterly briefing book, frequent special reports, web platforms and client-based consulting projects, all focusing on turning emerging innovative technology and marketing into future-facing business intelligence.

He's spoken at dozens of leading industry events including the Cannes Lions, SXSW Interactive, IDEA, CaT: Creativity and Technology, Yahoo! Provoke Summit, CreateTech, FutureFlash, Interesting New York and more.

He resides in Brooklyn and enjoys fly fishing, dystopian fiction and any music that sounds like it could have come from Detroit.

Amar Chohan / Sales Executive

After studying Law for over five years Amar decided that the legal world just wasn’t exciting enough and began his career in sales. A year in advertising sales followed by a stint as a senior account executive for a brokerage house led him to Contagious.

Since then Amar has been taking care of business development throughout Europe and the UK and also launched and heads up the education arm of the business, Contagious Academic.

When not selling, Amar has played every sport under the sun, including National League Hockey and club level tennis. When not playing sport Amar likes to frequent the many eateries and drinking establishments of London! Fact – Amar is the youngest member of the Contagious team!

Alex Jenkins / Editor, Contagious Feed

Alex Jenkins is Editor of Contagious Feed – an online intelligence service focusing on the intersection of non-traditional marketing, emerging technology and consumer trends. Through Feed and the Contagious Insider consultancy division, Alex works with brands such as BBC Worldwide, American Express, Diageo, Universal Music and Xbox, writing in-depth specialist reports and delivering trend briefings and presentations.

Alex came to Contagious from the IPA, and prior to that he worked as a business journalist, copywriter, and film coordinator.

Outside of office hours, Alex has written web comedy for Channel 4, produced an album which somehow made it into the Billboard staff choices for 2005, and had his first book published in 2008.

Noelle Weaver / Business Development Director, North America

Noelle is helping steer the Contagious mother ship in the US after a 15 year career in business development helping agencies and start-ups brand, market, and strategically grow their business and corporate reputations.

Most recently Noelle was Director of Sales and Marketing at CAA’s youth research and trends analysis firm, The Intelligence Group. Prior to IG, she was at the start-up Indabamusic.com, a global community for semi- and professional musicians as SVP of Business Development and Sales.

Having always had a passion for new business, Noelle has pitched everything from Beer to Beano. She began her career at large global agencies such as JWT Chicago, Publicis in New York and Euro RSCG. At the small boutique firm SS+K she was hired to build the agency’s first new business department and helped the agency grow 30 percent year over year.

A resident of Williamsburg Brooklyn, Noelle guest blogs at Beekman1802, is a self-professed geek and information junkie, and is in constant search of the path less travelled and the perfect glass of bourbon.

Dan Southern / Senior Consultant, Contagious Insider

Dan Southern joined Contagious in December 2010 to work on its ever growing consultancy division, Insider. Since joining he has worked with clients such as Louis Vuitton, Nike, Sony Ericsson and BBC Worldwide on a diverse set of projects, but always with the aim of helping them to do better in an increasingly complex environment for marketers. In addition to leading projects, presentations and workshops for Insider, he writes for the quarterly magazine and Feed service. He also regularly delivers Contagious keynotes around the world.

Dan started out at Ogilvy, working on strategy in its Sport and Entertainment team, before heading to Xtreme Information’s consultancy division, to work with brands including Orange, Honda and UPC. He has a first class degree in economics, an eye for a good piece of public transport upholstery and a crippling love of Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Ed White / Senior Writer, Contagious Feed

Ed White is a senior writer and consultant at Contagious Communications, where alongside writing for the magazine he has consulted for global brands including Nike, Louis Vuitton, BBC Worldwide, Diageo as well as global network agencies such as BBDO, JWT and McCann Worldgroup.

Ed started his career in journalism on the main news desk at the Financial Times. From there he defected to shots magazine, working his way up to news reporter and staff writer before going transatlantic in 2007, joining fellow ad publication Boards, latterly as associate editor. Ed joined Contagious at the beginning of 2011 from trends forecasting agency The Future Laboratory, where he was editor of Future:Poll, the bespoke brand research division and worked for clients including American Express, Wilkinson Sword and Jameson.

Outside Adland, Ed has written freelance about everything from rockabilly festivals to South American animators, and the inventor of the album cover, for the Guardian Online, Dazed & Confused and The Face, among others.

Matthew Porter /Sales Executive, North America

A world traveler with a stamp on almost every page of his passport, Matt graduated from high school at Munich International School in Germany and Bocconi University in Milan. Matt most recently came to Contagious from the Brent International School in the Philippines where he was an IB Business Management teacher helping junior and senior AP students understand the finer arts of accounting and marketing.

Having recently landed on American shores, and looking to find a career in the marketing and advertising industry, Matt will most surely use his business smarts and sales skills to help build a groundswell of Contagious subscribers and fans throughout the United States and Canada.

Matt is proficient in German and rusty in Italian, not to mention the fine art and enjoyment of a well-brewed Hefeweizen beer. When not drinking Weissbier, he can be found hanging out at New York comedy clubs, traveling the globe or seeing the latest movie.

Chloe Markowicz /Writer / Researcher

Chloe Markowicz joined Contagious as a writer / researcher in July 2011. In addition to writing news stories, features and reports for both the quarterly magazine and Feed, Chloe is quickly establishing herself as a dynamic public speaker, having delivered trend briefings at events such as the Contagious Now / Next / Why Sessions.

Chloe has worked as the tech reporter at business magazine PRWeek, and for the weekly paper The Jewish News. Following a stint in China at the Shanghai World Expo, she worked as a freelance journalist, writing about a variety of topics from the Pope’s cross for Vanity Fair magazine to the Chinese diamond industry and Elizabeth Hurley’s bikini preferences.

Chloe holds an MSc in Gender and Media from the London School of Economics as well as an MA in Magazine Journalism from City University.

Gina Rembe /Researcher

Gina joined Contagious as a researcher in October 2011, working closely with the Feed, Insider and editorial team.

Originally from Berlin, she has since studied and worked in London, Wellington, Toronto and Amsterdam, where she obtained a degree in Branding from the Amsterdam Fashion Institute.

Before Contagious Gina headed up the sponsorship opportunities for D&AD's prestigious Student Awards, bringing on board twenty brands such as McDonald's, e.on and Bloomberg. When she realised that the most intriguing part of the process was writing the briefs and cracking the clients' challenges, Gina headed for the (Contagious) hills, after short stints at Fallon and Circus Communications.

Aside from a passion for typography, lino printing and playing competitive volleyball, Gina has a keen interest in sociological and cultural shifts and their greater effect on how we behave and interact with brands.

Simon Wylie /CEO

With a degree in History & French from Goldsmiths University, Simon started his career in London with The Press Association.

He left to join a start-up media intelligence and insight businesses, The Register Group, working with FTSE 100 and Fortune 500 brand owners and agencies. Simon left London in 1990 to set up The Register in Italy and in NY in 1997.

With the sale of the business to The Financial Times, Simon left and co-founded Xtreme Information in 1998 along with John Gordon and Dan Levin, where he became Managing Director in 2006.

Following Xtreme Information’s merger with Ebiquity PLC, Simon joined Contagious as CEO in May 2011.

With an entrepreneurial spirit, a natural curiosity for innovation and insight, Simon’s remit is to grow the company, explore strategic alliances, acquisition opportunities and to make the critical transition from a small company into an international entity.

Jess MacDermot /Global Commercial Director

After leaving the University of Wales with a degree in English and Drama clutched firmly in her hand, Jess started her career in publishing at Centaur Media plc where she spent many years honing her skills across all areas of magazine brand- management and development.

Latterly she worked for 11 years as Publisher of Creative Review, developing the brand digitally in online and app formats, whilst still growing print subscriptions and copy sales, and launching the commercially successful creative events division with Sarah Cutler, with whom she joined Contagious in September 2011.

Jess heads up the commercial division of Contagious, and runs a taxi service for her 10 year old daughter. When doing neither of these she’s generally found with her head in a book and, perhaps, a glass of wine in her hand.

Patrick Jeffrey /Writer / Researcher

After completing his undergraduate degree in History at the University of Manchester, Patrick embarked upon an MA specialising in International Migration and Refugee Studies.

With his degree wrapped up (and a small stint of travelling thrown in), Patrick headed to London and joined Idea Generation – a communications agency operating within the cultural sector. After two years in account management, where he worked with clients such as Beck’s, Skype, Absolut and Zippo, Patrick began to work within two specific areas: content origination and cultural insight. Here his time was split between devising experiential campaigns for brands within the retail sector – where he led the agency to win more gongs at the 2012 BCSC Awards than any other agency in the UK – and working on strategic audits for cultural institutions seeking sponsorship in a difficult landscape.

In July 2012 Patrick joined Contagious as a Staff Writer on Feed. Here he keeps clients up-to-speed with innovative brand campaigns from across the globe, whilst also contributing to the website and magazine.

Alessandro Manella /Business Development Director

Alessandro was educated in Italy at Salesian College, Don Bosco in Soverato and then Universitá Della Sapienza, Roma.

He joined The Register Group many (many!) years ago, where he started out in the International Press Team. In 1996 he became International Client Service Development manager at DigiReel; he then spent 10 years at media monitoring outfit, Xtreme Information.

Alessandro has helped to nurture and grow several international clients throughout his career within various business development units and has worked with brands such as RedBull, Nokia, Samsung, Barilla, Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Ferrero, Microsoft, Bulgari, Lavazza, Pirelli, Westfield, Diesel.

He joined Contagious in April 2011 where he is now focussed on rapidly expanding its clients in Italy, Germany, Austria , SE Asia and Australia.

Arianna Radji /Events Manager

Arianna joined Contagious in January 2012 to work on the newly formed Events team, where she manages all Contagious events, including the Now / Next / Why Sessions in London and New York, Most Contagious and the ever important mag wrap parties.

Arianna started her career when she moved to Geneva straight after university to work at the United Nations. Working at the International Labour Office, she soon became the go-to girl for their international events. After nine months of Swiss cheese and chocolate, Arianna moved to London to continue her events and communications journey on the PR & CSR team at Skype where she lead their CSR initiatives and events. From one tech company to the next, Arianna moved to Apple to work on their UK educational leadership tour before joining Contagious.

When she’s not in the office Arianna can be found singing, speaking Farsi or heading to the airport. Rarely though, will you find her doing all three.

Florence Hill /Subscriptions Development Manager

After mastering the basics of Architectural Design, Florence left Newcastle University with her degree and headed down to London… to do something entirely unrelated.

Following a two year stint in high-end events with all things glamorous and gourmet she hung up her stilettos and headed to Contagious to put her nattering to good use and spread the word on the gospel that is Contagious Magazine.

Florence looks after all new magazine subscriptions here at Contagious and when she’s not converting the masses she can mostly be found racing the streets of London on her bike, reaching inner peace in a sweaty yoga room or plotting the possibility of a puppy over a pint.