Amy Middlebrook, VP, Directory Group, Commonwealth

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Commonwealth Business Media VP of directory databases Amy Middlebrook relaunched CustomHouseGuide.com and OfficialExportGuide.com in September 2007 and has already reported positive feedback from the market and a nearly 400% increase in Web traffic in March 2008, up from March 2007.

With these successes under her belt, Middlebrook notes that being a woman in a predominantly male industry can be challenging. "Women have to work a little harder to be taken seriously as a professional," she says. She advises remaining flexible and illustrates that point with her own experience of shifting from an editorial perspective to that of a business VP.

"Be adaptable," she says. "I learned a lot the first year--I adjusted. My mantra really has four parts, which are 1) know the customer; 2) embrace change; 3) focus on results; 4) and then do everything possible to make these the principles on which everyday business decision are made within the organization. If I had any advice, it would be to have faith in yourself, your employees and your ability to deliver what the customers needs."

Regarding transitioning from print to online, she advises feeding the pipeline with new content, more accessible content and addressing usability issues. In applying these tenets to her own work, she has come a long way since her days as a copy editor at Peterson's, where she got her start in the industry in 1988. By the mid-90s, she was the editor of a monthly suite of computing journals at Commonwealth (then K3 Communications). She was then promoted to directory group manager, then editorial director.

Middlebrook lives in Lawrenceville, N.J. with her husband of 11 years, Dave, her 7-year-old daughter, Alison, and their Cavalier King Charles spaniel, Jackie. She relaxes by gardening and hiking, and enjoys reading National Geographic.

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