About Us: Board of Directors

FELIX DENNIS
Chairman
"Turnover is vanity, profit is sanity, overhead walks on two legs.
- Felix Dennis

Felix Dennis is one of Britain's best-known entrepreneurs. He was born in Kingston-upon-Thames in 1947. After leaving Harrow College of Art, Dennis wasted a great deal of his youth playing in R&B bands. In 1971 he was imprisoned by the British government as a co-editor of OZ magazine at the culmination of the longest conspiracy trial in English history. Dennis recorded a single with John Lennon to raise money for a legal defence fund. Following his acquittal by the High Court of Appeal, Dennis went on to found his own magazine publishing company in 1973. A pioneer in personal computer magazines, Dennis made millions with the sale of Personal Computer World to VNU and MacUser to Ziff Davis Publishing in the mid-eighties. He also co-founded a $2 billion computer mail-order company, which eventually went public on the NASDAQ. Felix Dennis won the prestigious Marcus Morris Award in 1991, the highest accolade in the UK magazine publishing industry. He also sponsors the PPA Diploma in Publishing, which has been nationally benchmarked against Masters-level qualifications. He is the sole owner of Dennis Publishing Ltd, and in the past few years has become one of Britain's best-selling poets. He has a passion for trees as well as poetry, and with his Forest of Dennis project is aiming to create the largest broadleaf forest in England. Last year over 100,000 trees were planted in the forest.

What people say.:

  • "Innovation and the readiness to take risks along with his undaunted enthusiasm for the magazine publishing business were qualities which Felix Dennis shared with Marcus Morris. From early beginnings on Oz he pioneered microcomputer publishing on both sides of the Atlantic."
    - PPA

  • "A 21st-century Kipling"
    - Tom Wolfe

  • "An engaging monster, filled with contradictions and reeking of sulphur"
    - The Times (of London)

  • "I enjoy his poetry immensely..."
    - Mick Jagger, singer, songwriter

JAMES TYE
Chief Executive
"Everything you do in life will fit the 80-20 rule. Just make sure you pick the right 20%."
- James Tye

James joined Dennis Publishing in October 1992 and spent six years on the editorial teams of various titles, including the editorship of market-leading PC Pro. In 1998 he became a Publisher. He joined the Executive Board in 2000 as Operations Director and became Divisional MD for Dennis’s Technology Division in 2004. In the same year he oversaw the launch of the Dennis Gambling Division. He became Chief Executive of Dennis Publishing Ltd in January 2006, is a Director of Dovetail Ltd and is a member of the Periodical Publishers Association (PPA) board.

IAN LEGGETT
Group Finance Director
"It's very difficult to be continuously charitable in a capitalistic society. You've also got to make sure that you can pay everyone who works for you."
- Felix Dennis

Ian joined Dennis Publishing in September 1992, having spent 10 years with the chartered accountants Touche Ross & Co and three years as Finance Director at Harrap Publishing Group. In his initial role as Finance Director of Dennis Publishing he facilitated the growth of the company in the UK through launch and acquisition. He also participated in the launch of Maxim and The Week in the US. He is now attached to Felix’s office, overseeing Group Finance. He is also a Director of Dovetail Ltd, Seymour Distribution Ltd and The Week, Inc.

BRETT REYNOLDS
Chief Operating Officer
"Genius is the ability to reduce the complicated to the simple."
- C.W. Ceran

Brett spent seven years with the chartered accountants PricewaterhouseCoopers and five years as Financial Controller of Conde Nast Publications Ltd before joining Dennis Publishing in May 2004 as UK Finance Director on the Executive Board. In January 2006 he was promoted to Chief Operating Officer, with direct responsibility for Finance, IT, Buildings and Facilities, Insurance, Property, Production and Legal. Brett also sits on the PPA Finance Policy Group.

KERIN O'CONNOR
Executive Director
Managing Director, The Week
"Victory belongs to the most persevering."
- Napoleon Bonaparte

Kerin joined The Week as marketing manager in February 1996, when Felix Dennis was in the process of acquiring a majority shareholding in the title. He became Associate Publisher within a year, and Publisher a year later. In 2000 he joined the Executive Board as International Licensing Director, where he took on responsibility for the overseas expansion of Maxim, launching the title successfully around the world. In 2004 he became Deputy MD of the Consumer Division. In January 2006, his role changed to Executive Director and he renewed his focus on The Week, where he became MD.

PETE WOOTTON
Managing Director - Dennis Interactive
"If you can keep your head when all around you have lost theirs, then you probably haven't understood the seriousness of the situation."
- David Brent

Pete joined Dennis Publishing in May 1995 and worked in sales roles on a number of magazines before becoming the Sales Manager of Dennis Interactive in June 1999. In January 2002 he became the publisher of Computer Buyer and our IT websites and was also responsible for launching Custom PC the following year. Following a couple of years as Operations Director he became the divisional MD of Dennis Interactive in October 2006 and a member of the Executive Board. He also sits on the Association of Online Publishers (AOP) Board.

IAN WESTWOOD
Managing Director - Motoring and Technology Division
"Ideas are a commodity, execution is not."
- Michael Dell

Ian joined Dennis in January 1993 as Advertising Manager of Hi-Fi Choice and in 1994 was promoted to Group Manager of Computer Shopper and Computer Buyer. In 1995 he became the company’s Advertisement Director and joined the Executive Board in 2000. Three years later he was appointed Publishing Director of the Technology Division, and in January 2006 was promoted to Managing Director of the Motoring and Technology Division.

JULIAN LLOYD-EVANS
Managing Director of Advertising
"It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit."
- Harry S Truman, 1884 - 1972, US President

Julian joined Dennis in 1996 as a Display Sales Executive on PC Pro magazine and became Advertising Manager of the title in 2000. In 2001 he became Group Advertising Manager of the PC portfolio and was later promoted in 2003 to Advertising Director of the IT, Games and Gambling Divisions. In 2004 he was promoted to the divisional IT and specialist board and took on responsibility for advertising sales in the Online and Classified departments. In 2006 he was promoted to the Executive Board and was given responsibility for all advertising sales at Dennis Publishing, and in 2007 he was promoted to Managing Director of Advertising for Dennis Publishing UK.

DICK POUNTAIN
Non-Executive Director
"The optimist thinks that this is the best of all possible worlds, and the pessimist knows it."
- J. Robert Oppenheimer

Following a degree in biochemistry and a spell in New York, Dick began his career in journalism on the underground press in 1969. He worked with Felix on Ink and Oz magazines and helped found Bunch Books (now Dennis Publishing). He was Production Director of Bunch/Dennis from 1972 until 1981, then Managing Editor of Personal Computer World. Following the sale of PCW in 1983, he became Managing Editor of the short-lived software magazine, Soft. Dick was European Contributing Editor to the US magazine Byte from 1984 to 1998 and Real World Editor and columnist for PC Pro from its launch in 1994 to date. He is a Non-Executive Director on Dennis Publishing's Executive Board.

ALISTAIR RAMSAY
Non-Executive Director
"If the kids are united they will never be divided."
- Sham 69

Having joined Dennis Publishing in 1982, Alistair rose through the ranks on the sales side of the company, becoming Sales Director in 1985 and CEO in 1992. He held that position until December 2005, when he became a non-Executive Director of the company. Alistair also remains involved in the company's joint ventures Seymour Distribution and Dovetail, for whom he is Non-Executive Chairman. He fits in various other non-Dennis-related non-executive and consultancy positions between housework and the golf course.