Gilbertson sets out his five-year plan for Emap

The insight he has gained from the "open and straight" series of meetings has helped him formulate his strategic review of the business, following its acquisition by Apax and Guardian Media Group for £1.25bn, as part of the sell-off of the firm's assets that saw Bauer snap up Emap's consumer magazine and radio divisions.

Gilbertson, 51, who was drafted in to Emap by GMG and Apax in March to replace Emap's previous chief executive, Derek Carter, admits that he is no longer in his comfort zone after spending 10 years at rival B2B publisher Informa.

He says: "The move to Emap has been a very rejuvenating, enlivening experience. But I didn't know the people, the products or the markets, so you have to work hard to get yourself back in a position where you know the company inside out."

Gilbertson started to present his analysis of Emap's strengths, opportunities and shortcomings just 30 days into his new role. Emap is in good shape, with its 55 core products generating annual revenues of £300m, but he has ambitions to expand the business still further within the five-year private equity framework.

The story so far is the restructuring of the business into four format-based divisions - Inform (magazines), Connect (exhibitions and festivals), Networks (conferences) and Insight (data providers such as WGSN, de Havilland and Planet Retail). Unsurprisingly, the new arrangement meant a rethink of Emap's senior management, with eight publishing director roles axed in favour of devolving commercial responsibility down to individual titles.

So, although Simon Middlebow, chief executive of Emap Inform, is supported by managing directors Fraser Murdoch (construction and public sector) and Natasha Christie-Miller (retail and media), below that, the onus for the profit and loss of Emap's publishing rests mainly on the shoulders of magazine editors.

Digital progression
Gilbertson defends the, perhaps unusual, management structure and insists that, although some roles have fallen, Emap's overall headcount remains roughly the same.

He says: "The change wasn't driven by trying to save on cost, but by wanting to make the magazine business as strong as possible. We have just 21 titles, so when we put them into one division we no longer needed lots of publishing directors."

From here, Gilbertson is keen to strengthen the online element of each of the four divisions and to increase the firm's digital cash flow, which currently accounts for about 10% of total advertising revenues. The jewel in the crown of Emap's digital port-folio is global style network WGSN, which is subscribed to by 2,000 firms worldwide and pulls in £35m of subscription revenues annually.

Another key area for growth is Emap's events arm, which includes the retail trade event Spring Fair - the only exhibition that fills Birmingham's NEC - and the Cannes Lions Advertising Festival, which attracted record audiences this year. Building on the strength of Cannes Lions, Emap is launching the World Architecture Festival in Barcelona this October, supported by Architects' Journal and Architectural Review.

On this upcoming phase of growth, Gilbertson says: "The divisions are format-based, but that doesn't mean we can't cross-pollinate: magazines and events can work very closely together and successful formats can be exported to new locations. Organic growth is very important to us and there is a lot to explore. All the magazines have a huge amount of digital potential and we have only just begun that process."

Once Emap has grown organically to the satisfaction of the board, phase two for the business will be a mergers and acquisitions strategy. Gilbertson says: "We are in the process of seeing where our strengths are and how they should be reproduced in other sectors and territories, and that will inform our acquisitions strategy."

Some City commentators have speculated that Emap may make a move for Reed Business Information; others that Emap is a logical fit with its half-sister Incisive Media, which is 100%-owned by Apax.

Merger speculation
Gilbertson does not rule out a merger with Incisive, saying that it "could be a natural area, but there is no imperative". He says: "Our strategy needs to help Emap become the business it wants to be. If a combination with Incisive helps that, then a merger could go ahead."

International growth is another area with potential: since Emap's only non-UK presence is Middle East Economics Digest magazine, based in Dubai, Gilbertson sees other high-growth markets and the US as "great opportunities for us to explore".

Currently, such moves are, Gilbertson stresses, "works in progress". But with the goal for the end of the first round of joint venture funding in five years' time to make Emap large enough to be floated on the stock market, the industry can expect some aggressive announcements soon.

Wrapping up the interview ahead of Emap's second board meeting, Gilbertson confirms his intent: "When you buy a business, you should be able to make a difference to it. If you don't have something to add, then all you are doing is paying for the profit that somebody else has generated."

CV
2008: Chief executive, Emap
1998: Chief executive, Informa
1995: Chief executive, LLP
1994: Managing director, The Lancet
1987: Editor, Lloyd's List
1981: Editor, Metal Bulletin
1980: Commodities and finance reporter, Reuters
1978: Assistant editor, Metal Bulletin

Family: Married to Danielle, with two children: Luke, 18, and Holly, 16
Car: Aston Martin DB9
Desert island media: QI, The Guardian, I'm Sorry, I Haven't a Clue
Football team: Liverpool

GILBERTSON ON ...

Apax and GMG The financial investors are hugely supportive. It is great for me to have share-holders who understand the business intimately and want to help, because they have been in the public market for a long time.

Publishing director redundancies We have lost some people whose skills were surplus and we have had to hire some people whose skills were absent. The overall headcount has remained roughly the same as before, just with a slight change of emphasis.

The economy With the projections for the economy being as gloomy as they are, some people are going to be hit really hard. Emap has had a profit margin of more than 30% every year for the past few years - that is a better margin than anybody else in B2B. I am hoping to keep those strengths while opening out the topline of the business.

The Emap legacy There is good brand equity in Emap. People know and understand the business, and I think we can build that still further. So, I am happy to keep the Emap name for the business.