Aaron Asadi’s Post

In 20 years, people will look back at how neurodivergent people were labelled as having a disorder and feel horrified at the choice of word. It’s not a disorder. They are not ill. Some environments are shit for them, some are great. Use different words.

My future is now with a lower-case f.  After five years on the executive leadership team at Future, I am going to finally do my share of school runs. And after a few of those… who knows? But something new. Taking Future’s biggest brands to record highs has been an unforgettable experience. And it is an experience I have shared with so many talented and kind people – far too many to list here but to name a few… Matthew Pierce, Paul Newman, Gareth Beavis, Mark Spoonauer, Stuart Williams, Keith Walker, Sam Robson, Simon Glanville, Jason Orme, and Evan Kypreos. Such incredible people, all of you. Leading the Ecommerce division with Matthew Smith has been a huge part of my work at Future these past few years, and our success has been a great source of personal pride. But it simply could not have happened in the glorious way that it did without James Rivington, Ross Curtis, and Simon Rawle. Of all the areas of media I have worked in, this has been the closest to my heart. It has been a complete joy.  Being part of the ELT since 2016 and helping the business grow to become listed on the FTSE 250 has been an adventure many will envy and few will have. I was privileged to work with so many great people on this team in that time, so I will sign off with a heartfelt shout-out to Zillah Byng-Thorne, Claire MacLellan, Kevin Li Ying, Rachel Addison, Penny Ladkin-Brand, Julian March, Jason Kemp, Mike Peralta, Marco Peroni, Rick Stamberger, Angela O'Farrell, Andrea Davies, Mike Kisseberth, Simon Jackson, Lee Griffin, Sophie Wybrew-Bond, Marcus Adolfsson, and others I am no doubt criminally forgetting. Not to mention the brilliant support I have had from all across the business, not least of which from Daniel Jotcham, Jon White, Ross Andrews, Hollie Bishop, and Emma Rome. I have worked in consumer media now since 2003. In every office I ever sat, I always saw genius and graft around me. It’s a wonderful industry, full of change and opportunity, amazing people, inspiring brands, and full-throttle competition. I have absolutely loved it.