Tess Macleod Smith
Vice-president publishing and media
Net-a-Porter
Tess Macleod Smith turned the fashion magazine model on its head when Net-a-Porter launched bi-monthly glossy publication Porter in February 2014. With Porter, readers can buy Net-a-Porter fashion direct through either the print edition or its app. “It’s about shortening the path from inspiration to transaction,” she says. The fashion etailer lured her from Hearst UK, where she was responsible for the UK launch of Harper’s Bazaar and re-launching Esquire.
Lightbulb moment: "When I realised that there was a new type of global public – a high-net-worth woman who was searching for a global fashion edit. That woman was also highly connected and digitally-minded but craved the authority and emotional connection of print."
