James Hill

Media & Publishing Lead @ WPVIP Enterprise WordPress | Ex-Publisher | Open and Intelligent Content Experience Platform

London10.2k followers

WordPress VIP

ex-Gladiator Media Ltd

ex-Morris Communications

I'm a 2×-exit commercial leader and former publisher, now focused on helping established and growth-minded media companies modernise their content platforms and unlock audience intelligence with WordPress VIP and ly across the UK and EMEA.
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For over two decades I've been on the media side — building GTM engines, launching products, and running an omnichannel publishing business across 20 markets as Publisher / Founder of LUXOS (print, digital, social, content-to-commerce). A big part of that journey was deciding to move from a bespoke, home-grown CMS to WordPress at the core, and dealing with all the implications: • Keeping things stable and secure on high-traffic news and campaign days • Scaling across multiple brands, markets and languages • Designing editorial workflows, governance and permissions that actually work • Driving performance, SEO and experimentation • Understanding which content drove results — and giving editorial, advertising and partnerships teams shared visibility into what was working, where, and why • Giving commercial teams the tools they need on the same stack That last point changed how we operated. When editorial and commercial teams see the same performance data in real time, decisions get faster and better. That's the problem ly solves — and it's one I lived before I ever sold it. Today at 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗩𝗜𝗣, I use that experience to support media and publishing leaders across EMEA who are navigating similar decisions. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜 𝗱𝗼: • Turn complex CMS and analytics platform choices into clear, publisher-friendly decisions • Co-create secure, scalable WordPress VIP roadmaps that reduce risk and tech debt • Help teams connect content performance to business outcomes with ly • Bring editorial, product and commercial teams onto a shared foundation — publishing and analytics on one stack • Support teams through the change that comes with modernising business-critical platforms 𝙄 𝙗𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙤𝙤𝙡𝙠𝙞𝙩 𝙄 𝙪𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙭𝙋𝙪𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙧— 𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙚𝙧𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙘𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙧𝙝𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙢𝙨, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙖 𝙘𝙤𝙖𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙨𝙚𝙩 — 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙛𝙤𝙘𝙪𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙤𝙣 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙤𝙧 𝙄 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙙𝙚𝙚𝙥𝙡𝙮: 𝙢𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙖 & 𝙥𝙪𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜. If you're running a media brand or publishing business and want to evolve your content platform and how you measure its impact, I'd be happy to compare notes.

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CHEFS FOR FOODIESJOB
1. Co-Founder— Brand, GTM, Pa…
  6Y 1M
WORDPRESS VIPJOB
1. Media & Publishing Lead WP…
  9M
GLADIATOR MEDIAJOB
1. CRO
  3Y 4M
FOUR AGENCY WORLDWIDEJOB
1. Co-Founder & CCO (VP, Grow…
  1Y 1M
HIJOB
1. CRO
  2Y 4M
2. Executive Dir
  1Y 5M
LUXOS MAGAZINEJOB
1. Founder & CEO (CRO)
  15Y 7M
MORRIS COMMUNICATIONSJOB
1. Global Advertising Sales Dir
  3Y 11M
KDDI CORPORATIONJOB
1. General Mgr, Japan
  2Y
BUILDING MAGAZINEJOB
1. Regional Sales Dir
  3Y

Job: Chefs For Foodies — Co-Founder— Brand, GTM, Partnerships & Content-to-Commerce · 2020-09 – present · 5y 11mo — What we built My wife and I created a ECOM curated D2C food marketplace from zero: designed the brand & narrative, built the P&L and unit economics, and launched a full-funnel GTM that combines paid, CRM and creator content with drop-ship operations. Core mandates: • Brand & narrative: name, identity, voice; chef-led curation and trust layer. • P&L & pricing: take-rate model, category margins, contribution targets, cash discipline. • GTM & growth: acquisition (Search/Meta/Amazon), mobile-first conversion (wallet checkout, PDP optimisation), retention (Klaviyo CRM/SMS). • Sales enablement: playbooks, partner decks, pipeline governance; chef/creator content tied to revenue. • Strategic…
Job: Gladiator Media Ltd — CRO | Enterprise Growth, Sales Enablement & Strategic Partnership · 2022-09 – 2026-01 · 3y 4mo — I stepped in as Interim CRO to align Marketing, Sales and CS around one revenue plan. I build GTM strategy, stand up sales enablement (playbooks, coaching, tooling), and close growth partnerships that unlock pipeline, AOV and expansion. Core mandates: • Revenue architecture: ICP, packaging/pricing, territory design, forecasting & operating rhythm. • Sales enablement: messaging & MEDDICC, discovery frameworks, POV design, objection handling, Gong/Salesforce/HubSpot hygiene. • GTM & demand: full-funnel mix (search, retail/social media, content-to-commerce), partner co-marketing. • Partnerships: luxury groups, publishers, marketplaces; barter/media value and retail media monetisation. Se…
Job: Morris Communications — Global Advertising Sales Director · 1998-01 – 2001-12 · 3y 11mo
Job: KDDI Corporation — General Manager, Japan — Publishing JV (KDD International Partnership) · 1996-01 – 1998-01 · 2y — Summary Led a Japanese publishing venture in partnership with KDD International (top Japanese telecom). Recognised for strategic foresight and commercial leadership, I launched and scaled the cross-border media business, establishing Japan as a cornerstone of global expansion. Core mandates: • Design and execute the Japan market entry: competitive research, localised GTM, product strategy, stakeholder alignment. • Build dual revenue model (strategic sponsorships + luxury advertising); pricing, packaging, and sales enablement. • Recruit and lead cross-cultural sales & editorial teams; set operating cadence and performance KPIs. • Develop long-term partnerships with Japanese and global l…
Job: WordPress VIP — Media & Publishing Lead WPVIP + Parse.ly EMEA · 2026-01 – present · 7 mo — I’ve spent most of my career on the publisher side, so I understand first-hand the pressure of balancing audience growth, content monetisation, editorial needs, and omni-channel digital transformation. Now at WordPress VIP + Parse.ly, I work with media and publishing teams across the UK & EMEA to modernise their content and analytics stack with an open, intelligent content experience platform. My focus is simple: help publishers reduce complexity, move faster, and follow a “build what differentiates, buy what accelerates” approach. I’ve lived the reality of legacy platforms, tech debt, and the challenge of scaling content across brands, markets, and channels. That’s why my conversations a…
Job: LUXOS Magazine — Founder & CEO (CRO) — Global Luxury Media & Commerce Platform · 2001-04 – 2016-11 · 15y 7mo — What I Founded and Scaled Founded and scaled LUXOS into a global luxury media & commerce platform connecting HNW travellers with the world’s leading retail brands via targeted editorial, in-hotel distribution and omnichannel advertising. Owned commercial strategy, global ad sales, partnerships and digital expansion across EMEA, APAC and the Americas. Exited to Hi Inc.; joined the group’s executive leadership post-sale. Core mandates: • Build the proposition linking luxury retail with five-star hospitality; launch adjacent verticals (LUXOS Golf, LUXOS Design). • Lead B2B2C sales, pricing/packaging, and partner ecosystem; govern global P&L. • Stand up omnichannel media: print, digital, pr…
Job: hi Inc. — Executive Director — Revenue Strategy & M&A Integration (Executive Committee) · 2016-11 – 2018-04 · 1y 5mo — Summary Appointed to Hi Inc.’s Executive Committee after acquiring LUXOS, with cross-functional P&L across advertising, digital commerce and product. Led the end-to-end integration of LUXOS’s luxury media assets into Hi.com’s SaaS + marketplace ecosystem—driving operational scale, cultural alignment and commercial acceleration. Core mandates: • Stand up the integration office (people, process, tech) and protect revenue continuity. • Productise media into mobile-first, programmatic & native formats; align roadmap to revenue. • Design GTM frameworks for international rollout; PMF validation and cross-border execution. • Lead US expansion as Acting MD, New York; build pipeline and partner…
Job: Four Agency Worldwide — Co-Founder & CCO (VP, Growth & Client Solutions) — Luxury Travel Media Agency · 2019-08 – 2020-09 · 1y 1mo
Job: Building Magazine — Regional Sales Director — Building Magazine | RIBA Magazine & RIBA Interiors · 1993-01 – 1996-01 · 3y — Summary Promoted to Regional Sales Director, the youngest sales leader in the company’s history. Mandated to expand market presence, launch new verticals and deliver sustained regional growth. Founded and launched RIBA Magazine, a premium title for architecture and the built environment. Core mandates: • Own regional revenue strategy, key accounts and new-business development. • Launch and scale verticals; design GTM, pricing/packaging and distribution. • Lead sales team performance: pipeline cadence, coaching, targets and reviews. • Partner with editorial on commercial storytelling and category propositions. Selected outcomes: • Ranked #1 national sales performer for five consecutiv…
Job: hi Inc. — CRO — Programmatic, Native Advertising & Media Partnerships · 2017-04 – 2019-08 · 2y 4mo — What I owned Led global revenue across advertising, subscription SaaS, creative commerce and programmatic ecosystems. Built the GTM, sales enablement, and partner strategy; ran the operating cadence and forecast; aligned product with commercial outcomes. Core mandates: • GTM & enablement: ICP, packaging/pricing, MEDDICC, playbooks, deal reviews, POV→scale motion. • Programmatic & native: SSP/DSP integrations, PMPs/PG deals, inventory strategy, branded content. • Enterprise sales: hospitality, telecom, streaming, financial services; marketplace/CRM/DMP integration. • Global ops: hiring and leading 120+ across EU, APAC (Tokyo HQ) and North America; governance & OKRs. • P&L ownership: ro…
School: Mayfield College For Boys — English, Physics, Economics, Art, Drama, French, German, Computer Science and Media Studies

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James Hill

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