Heather Mikisch, Publisher, Thomas Publishing

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Heather Mikisch started in the publishing industry straight out of college at Thomas Publishing in 1991. Her great- grandfather Harvey Mark Thomas started the company, and consequently she felt that she had to really prove herself. "I [had] to work harder than most people," she says. In 1996, Mikisch next joined Miller Freeman just as it was merging with CMP; it was there that she got her feet wet in sales. She moved on to IDG as director of conferences and, having proven to the industry that her family history did not inhibit hard work and dedication, she returned to Thomas in December 2000, after she married. Today she is publisher of Thomas' Managing Automation and Manufacturing Executive.

In a challenging market, she's had a hand in growing Thomas' market share despite the decline of print. Manufacturing Executive is now launching in Europe, for example.

About the b2b media industry, she says: "I think that it's definitely a lot more exciting than people make it out to be. I think a lot of women go to consumer in the beginning." The Web has given everyone in the industry the opportunity to grow, she notes. Mikisch is a big fan of finding creative solutions. In fact, her e-mail tagline, a quote by Randy Pausch, reads, in part: "Remember, the brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something." In proving herself in the business, she has dealt with any brick walls in her way.

Mikisch lives in Essex Sells, N.J. with her husband, Erik, of eight years, and their 3-year-old daughter, Carly. She adores travel: "I love to go anywhere," and has spent time in Asia, her husband's native Berlin and lived in Barcelona for two years. She enjoys cooking, reading everything from history and Indian literature to Vanity Fair, New York magazine and The Economist. "Magazines are the cheapest form of entertainment," she says.

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