1. What was your first job/where did you start?
I started my career as a news reporter at the Citizen newspaper. Fresh out of university, it was a great training ground; it taught me to think on my feet, write in a pithy, punchy fashion and quickly get to the heart of a story. Every day was a new adventure and I fell in love with the frantic pace of a newsroom.

2. What made you want to build a career in your profession?
Journalism is the best profession in the world! It’s mobile, varied, fast paced and always interesting (even well-paid at times). Newspapers and magazines differ in many ways, but the fundamentals are the same: what makes a good story and will it resonate with my reader? The rest follows.

3. Describe a day in your life at present.
There is no such thing as a 'typical day'. On any given day, I can be found answering emails from readers, attending press launches, reading job bags, writing my blog and tweeting, editing copy, planning the next issue, thinking up compelling cover lines ... and that’s before I even start with the endless round of meetings. I love it! There is never a dull moment.

4. How do you unwind behind the scenes?
I am an avid hiker. To maintain my sanity, I get out into nature regularly, take in breath-taking views and suck fresh air into my lungs.

5. Who would you most like to meet – dead or alive – and why?
Katherine Hepburn. She was opinionated, fearless and way ahead of her time.

6. What has been one of the most important lessons you have learnt?
To always have a beginner’s mind. I can sum this up in one quote: “In a beginner’s mind there are endless possibilities; in a in an expert’s mind there are few.” This is how we learn and grow.

7. What is your secret indulgence and your three ‘can’t live without’ items?
My secret indulgence is Lindt chocolate balls, the red ones. Three things I can’t live without would be a good book, Apple Cider lipstick from Woolworths and my Virgin Active membership.

8. Who do you think is getting it right in the industry?
The industry has changed so much in recent times, and is continually changing, that it is more about a broader 'movement' by bright, talented, innovative, creative people than any one person. I salute the collective that is at the vanguard of this change and is happy to learn as it goes.

9. Which person in the industry do you think is making waves?
Literally, I would have to state at the moment it’s South African surfing icon and model, Roxy Louw, who is featured on the September cover of our newly revamped SHAPE magazine. No one represents the kind of realistic healthy and fit lifestyle we love to advocate more than Roxy, who besides personifying the credo that ‘beauty is more than skin-deep’, is a walking, talking spokeswoman for a balanced and healthy lifestyle.

10. Who is your alter ego?
The lead singer of Rammstein.

11. What is your favourite perfume?
Dior Addict.

12. Which car would best personify you, and why?
Classic, understated, reliable … it would have to be an MG.

13. What is your favourite reality TV series?
The Amazing Race. The rest, I can take or leave.

14. Who is someone you truly look up to, and which qualities do you most admire about them?
Nelson Mandela. Not very original I’m afraid, but he is unique. What I admire most about him is his humility; his ability to talk to anyone and make them feel they are the most important person in the room. It’s such a refreshing absence of ego.

15. What’s your stance on social media?
It is hugely powerful, and has certainly revolutionised the way we interact and communicate. The positive side is that we have started a conversation, in which everyone has a voice and equal value. But, we must tread carefully. There is no proof yet what the fallout will be and how this will shape our brains and behaviour down the line but early research is showing that it is making us a little dumber. I.e. We are thinking less analytically. (Read Nicholas Carr) So use it. But use it wisely and well.