Curriculum Vitae

Awards and honours
Was made a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the June 2009 Queen's Birthday Honours List "for services to Anglo-Hungarian relations". Received award from Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace on 30 October 2009.
 
Professional experience
Nov 2010 - present
Absolut Media Kft
Copy editor and proofreader
Copy edit, proofread, and write occasional articles, across the full range of Absolut Media's English language titles, including its flagship BBJ publication.
 
Sep 2010 – present
Voice, the magazine of the American Chamber of Commerce in Hungary

Editor

Work with AmCham Hungary to ensure its flagship publication delivers on the Chamber's expectations, reporting to and for its membership, but also all stakeholders in the Hungarian economy, including government and NGOs. Responsible for determining editorial style and content, and do much of the writing in addition to commissioning material and running the editorial budget.
 
Nov 2008 - present
Devil's Advocate Communications (DA Comms)

Work as a freelance journalist, writer and consultant. Partners and customers include British Chamber of Commerce in Hungary, BT Global Services, CGB Media, Intercomp Global Services, Kempinski Hotel Corvinus Budapest, Momentum Communications Consulting, Vodafone Hungary and Shell Hungary. Commissions from newspapers have included The Nation (UAE) and The Yorkshire Post (UK). 

Also act as a pro bono communications consultant for the Robert Burns International Foundation, advising on publicity and communications (including writing press releases and handling press liaison) for Budapest-based children's charity.

 Jan 1998 - Sep 2008
The Budapest Sun (Lapcom Kiadó Kft)
Managing Editor and Publishing Director
 
Responsible for editorial development of the newspaper, its website and associated publications. Also actively involved in writing, design and page layout, and acted as an "ambassador" for both Lapcom and Northcliffe in the capital city.
 
Nov 1986 - Dec 1997
Kent & Sussex Courier (Northcliffe Media)
Various
 
Started as indentured trainee reporter, rose through ranks to become senior reporter, then the youngest chief reporter the company had ever had at the time, the youngest news editor, and its first head of content. Left to become editor of The Budapest Sun, Hungary, part of the same wider newspaper group.
 
Professional qualifications
Trained in-house at the Kent & Sussex Courier, passing exams in shorthand (100 words per minute, using the Pitman 2000 system), newspaper writing, law for journalists and the British constitution, and, finally, the nationally recognized National Council For the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) Proficiency exam.
 
Education
1978 - 1985
Heathfield Community College (then called Heathfield Comprehensive School)
Cade Street, Old Heathfield, Heathfield, East Sussex.