Garnet People

Richard Peacock – General Manager

Richard joined the company in 2001 following a long period in Japan, teaching English, publishing corporate communications and ELT material and finally running his own publishing company in Tokyo. He has used his extensive knowledge of publishing to launch Garnet Education into the new era of open-market publishing.

Rod Webb – Education & Research Manager

Rod has been with the company since being seconded to the Bahrain Ministry of Education in 1984, the first of ten years spent in the Arabian Gulf. During this time, he travelled throughout the Middle East for company promotion and teacher training. His years in ELT have furnished him with many contacts within the profession, which he uses to ensure that the company maintains its high standards and direction.

Hannah Howard – Education and Training Assistant

Hannah first joined Garnet as an assistant to the general manager after graduating with a BA in English Literature from the University of Reading. Following six months travelling the world, Hannah returned to the world of work in the admissions department of a large education provider before rejoining Garnet. She enjoys the varied nature of her role at Garnet and the opportunities to expand her knowledge of education and publishing.

Christine Hart – Office Manager

Christine has overseen the reorganization of Garnet Education that is designed to improve efficiency and enhance the corporate image. Since joining in 2007, she has used the organizational skills gained over fifteen years of PA and office management work to transform the working environment.

Pamela Park – Production Manager

Pamela has extensive experience in academic publishing, having managed production for several of the major players during her career. In her role at Garnet, she is responsible for scheduling, budgets, quality control, liaison with the printers and arranging deliveries. She also uses her production experience to suggest improvements that will make the publishing process run more smoothly.

Simone Davies – Editorial Manager

Simone began her career teaching English in Japan, returning after five years to complete an MA in Japan Studies. Moving into the publishing world, she worked in consumer, academic and charity sector editorial project management roles before joining Garnet in January 2008. In her role as Editorial Manager she plays a pivotal role in developing the capacity of the company to produce quality ELT materials. Her experience in EFL underpins her work as a very experienced publishing professional.

Emily Clarke – Publishing Coordinator

Emily joined Garnet in 2006 from a small local publisher and continued to develop her career as an editor. She has recently been appointed Publishing Coordinator to make use of her knowledge and experience of the publishing process. As Publishing Coordinator, Emily works closely with all departments to aid with the efficient and timely production of materials. She also puts her sound knowledge of editorial procedures and company products to creative use in the development of marketing materials.

Fiona Dempsey – Publishing Coordinator

After graduating with a BA in English from the University of Reading, Fiona gained an introduction into the publishing industry through placements, where she worked with magazines and promotional materials. She has admin experience from the financial and tourism sectors, including a stint as a receptionist in the Czech Republic. This and her interest in languages at school means she is very happy working with the Garnet Education material. As Publishing Coordinator she supports all departments in the production of materials and recently helped the company prepare for their first Sales Conference.

Nicky Platt – Senior Editor

Having gained a BA in English Literature from Southampton, an MPhil from Cambridge and a PhD from Reading, Nicky has worked for over 12 years in both teaching and editorial roles. As a teacher, she has worked delivering pre-sessional and Business English courses, and lectured in literature at Reading, Birkbeck and Oxford. As an editor, Nicky has worked freelance for clients such as Macmillan, Folens and CfBT, and is now very happy to be helping to develop Garnet’s academic English materials.

Claire Forsyth – ESAP Editor

After completing a BA Hons in Communication with Modern Languages, Claire began her career as an in-house translator/project manager within the translation industry. Her love of the written word led her from translation to publishing in 2006. Since then she has worked in educational publishing, and more recently entered ELT publishing in an editorial role with Oxford University Press. Claire is delighted to have found a role at Garnet which combines both her interest in language learning with her editing skills.

Kate Brown – Editor

Kate has worked in publishing since 2004, after completing her degree in English Language and Linguistics. Starting as an Editorial Assistant in STM Publishing, she then moved to an academic publisher, where she was promoted to Assistant Editor. Her work involved assisting the commissioning editors with an interesting mix of publications from music to religion & theology. Kate joined Garnet in 2008. She is passionate about books and really enjoys her work as an Editor.

Sarah Mellowes – Editor

Sarah has worked in an editorial role in book publishing since 2005. Her editorial career has developed through working on a range of publications, from high-end illustrated books to children’s non-fiction and educational titles.

Her varied publishing experience, together with her general love of books, has proved vital to her role as an editor at Garnet.

Mike Hinks – Design Manager

Mike joined Garnet straight from university as junior designer. Having gained publishing experience with Garnet, he left to broaden his skills working in Design and Marketing in London. A few years later he was back, but this time his dedication, knowledge and enthusiasm were rewarded with a promotion to manage the design department.

Neil Collier – Designer

Neil joined the company straight from university, but having gained experience with Garnet, left to broaden his skills working for a Reading-based design agency, specializing in bespoke and high profile marketing campaigns. However, seven years later he was back with fresh ideas and renewed enthusiasm for EFL publishing.

Christin Helen Auth – Designer

Christin took an apprenticeship in graphic design in Germany and has worked in the advertising and publishing industries since 1998. Her work in different environments and countries has provided her with a unique experience in the business. She joined Garnet Education in 2007 after moving to England. Christin has first-hand knowledge of the difficulties and joys of mastering English, so she has a special interest in helping other students learn the language.

Ed Du Bois – Designer

Ed joined Garnet Education in February 2009, bringing with him a wealth of knowledge from the design, publishing and marketing sector. Previously, Ed has worked for both large and small agencies across varying disciplines as well as heading up teams of designers. With a great eye for detail, Ed is currently working on the new improved Skills in English series.

Sarah Church – Typesetter

Sarah originally worked for Garnet Publishing as Production Manager in the early 90s. She was then employed by a variety of publishing companies, heading up the production and design departments. In 2004, she left full-time work to become a freelance production advisor and typesetter, with Garnet as one of her clients. She has now returned to Garnet as a typesetter on a permanent basis and hopes to put her extensive knowledge in the publishing industry to good use.

Doug Nash – Illustration Specialist

Doug’s experience as an illustrator, gained through working for a variety of companies, enables him to adapt his style to suit Garnet’s wide range of publications. His speed and attention to detail are both vital in keeping to busy schedules at Garnet and his ability to capture movement and expression provide a solid foundation of good illustration around which freelance illustrators can build. 

Bob House – Typesetter & IT Supervisor

Bob quickly became indispensable as Mr IT since his talent for software support is only matched by his typesetting ability. When he first joined in 2007, he was overwhelmed by cries for help from his colleagues, but since solving all the problems has moved on to bringing innovation and efficiency to the office IT systems.

Sam Wiltshire – IT Specialist

After graduating with a BA Hon in film & video, Sam was introduced to multimedia by Tom Baker (Dr Who of Sam’s era) in Douglas Adams’s Hyperland. By the mid-90s, Sam was involved in multimedia design during the CD edutainment boom. He then moved into Internet & GUI business intranet design, where he created the front-end design for the 1st online secretarial test sites across Seattle, WA, for Microsoft Word certification. On a larger canvas, Sam has also designed the stage sets, speaker supports & 2D/3D graphics for corporate events such as IBM e-business. More recently, Sam designed new media in the form of B2B websites and web portals before transferring his skills to IT support. He has recently joined Garnet Education and looks forward to being part of the team developing the company’s planned e-products.

Bob Green – Marketing and Publishing Development Manager

Bob joined Garnet in 2008 having completed six years with McGraw-Hill in Latin America, the last two as Director of ELT based in Mexico City. Before that he has been in the ELT world with Prentice Hall and Macmillan and has lived and worked in the UK, San Salvador, Madrid, Buenos Aires and Central America & the Caribbean.

Olly Twist – Academic Sales Executive

Olly joined the company straight from the British Council in the UAE. He has developed contacts throughout the world through his outgoing nature and unique brand of humour. In his previous job at the British Council he dealt with all manner of people, from visiting dignitaries to children studying English. He is now using his expertise to promote Garnet Education’s open-market publishing ventures.

Catherine Kennedy – Marketing Executive

Catherine joined Garnet after graduating with a BA in Ancient History from the University of Reading. During five years of part-time employment at a flagship bookstore and involvement with events such as the Oxford Literary Festival, Catherine acquired a wide experience of the publishing industry and an understanding of the importance of customer care. She thrives on the busy nature of her role and enjoys travelling to conferences within the UK and abroad. 

Stephen Grantham – Marketing Assistant

Stephen began his career at Garnet in 1999. He now plays a vital role in the marketing department, answering customer enquiries, maintaining database records, sending samples to customers and helping with conference preparations. He also has sales responsibilities for another company within Garnet.