As the Managing Editor of Tatler, one of the world’s most prestigious and well-known British society magazines, Ahlya Fateh’s rise to the top of a fiercely competitive industry is an inspirational story of hard work and determination. Now married with two children, Ahlya talks to Blue Chip about her career success and dispenses invaluable advice on balancing family with the demands of a high-octane career
Ahlya started her career as an accountancy trainee at the prestigious international firm Pricewaterhouse Coopers, also known as PwC. Here, she was exposed to media as most of her clients were media companies. Though working on a magazine had been a life-long ambition for Ahlya, the post-recession environment in the UK meant that employment opportunities were primarily limited to the financial services industry. Determined to pursue her passion, Ahlya left PwC and sent out her CV to the leading publishing companies including Condé Nast, the publisher of illustrious magazines such as Vogue, Tatler and GQ. Ahlya was hired by Vogue as an Assistant Business Manager to the Chairman of Condé Nast International. “It was me and the Business Manager working for the Chairman, so there were the three of us and it was wonderful. It was like a two-year learn-everything-about-magazines from the savviest people on the planet. You got to talk to all the MDs as you were talking on behalf of the Chairman so you had a very honest relationship with people because you weren’t at the bottom trying to scrape your way up a ladder,” recalls Ahlya.
Ahlya worked on entering new territories such as South Africa and Russia and was based in Russia for two years while working on the launch of Russian Vogue. It was a fascinating time to be in Russia as Ahlya witnessed the country’s transition from communism to its embrace of capitalism. “I initially went out for three months and ended up staying for two years and worked on the launch of Russian Vogue. GQ was launched when I was there. They even have Russian Tatler, which is amazing. It’s unbelievable that a country which had no social life twenty years ago now has this incredible society magazine which is doing really well,” says Ahlya.
On returning to the UK, Ahlya joined the famous society magazine Tatler. “I never wanted to work anywhere else. I am very blessed that I don’t consider what I do work. I work with amazing, gifted, talented people who are at the top of their game so I am very lucky. It is hard work but I am very blessed that I enjoy it,” says Ahlya.
With two small children, Ahlya has learnt to successfully juggle the demands of her career with motherhood. She credits her workplace for its supportive attitude towards working mothers, “Madeline Albright said that there is a special place in hell for women who don’t help other women in the workplace and I am very lucky to work in an environment which is actually very female friendly. We have the option to take a year’s maternity leave, most of which is paid. I took a year off with both my children so I only went back to work after having Lara and Sabrina when they were 10-months old. I had spent the majority of their first year with them, which I don’t think many people do. I think we are very lucky to have that as an option because when you go back to work, you are 100% ready to go back to work,” explains Ahlya.
Managing her time between work and family is Ahlya’s overarching priority, “Time is the most precious commodity that we have and I think we waste it,” asserts Ahlya. In order to effectively manage competing priorities in today’s high pressured life, Ahlya recommends keeping things as simple as possible: “Simplify your life and that’s how you juggle. Keep it as simple as possible because then you are not going to be too overwhelmed.”
Coming from a close-knit family, Ahlya appreciates the support of her parents who live nearby: “It takes a village — I have a lot of help. I live four miles away from my parents. My brother is close by. My sister is in Lahore but that works out because I have a base there. My sister is amazing, she is an amazing mother; she is so interested in her children and is so proactive with them. I don’t think I am as adept at motherhood!” says Ahlya.
In fact, the women in her family are a continuous source of inspiration, “My mother is one of five sisters, all of whom are amazingly accomplished, brilliant, funny, witty and strong in their own ways. I saw that growing up.”
Through her work, Ahlya has also met women who have been exemplary role models, “I have worked with amazing women all my life who have been great role models and the fact that they show you that it can be done. Our new editor, Catherine Ostler, is married with three children; Anna Harvey, who I worked with at Russian Vogue is married and has four children and does an amazing job. She is Vice President Editorial Director for New Markets, Condé Nast International and flies around the world.”
But Ahlya also acknowledges the support and encouragement of the men she has worked with throughout her career and her father for the values he has instilled within her family. “The men I have worked with have also been amazing. Jonathan Newhouse who is the Chairman of Condé Nast International is definitely the most brilliant man I have ever worked for. My father has been an amazing role model to me, he is an incredibly talented lawyer but also somebody of incredible integrity and morality which a lot of people have lost sight of in the last 10 or 15 years.”
However, Ahlya feels that women need to give themselves more credit, “I think women should celebrate other women, I don’t think we do enough.”
In spite of her dazzling career success, Ahlya remains refreshingly humble, soft and down-to-earth, in admiration of the women around her, “Women inspire me because I think they are amazing creatures, they are born into adversity in so many ways and they overcome those adversities on a daily basis.”
As the Managing Editor of Tatler, one of the world’s most prestigious and well-known British society magazines, Ahlya Fateh’s rise to the top of a fiercely competitive industry is an inspirational story of hard work and determination. Now married with two children, Ahlya talks to Blue Chip about her career success and dispenses invaluable advice on balancing family with the demands of a high-octane career
Ahlya started her career as an accountancy trainee at the prestigious international firm Pricewaterhouse Coopers, also known as PwC. Here, she was exposed to media as most of her clients were media companies. Though working on a magazine had been a life-long ambition for Ahlya, the post-recession environment in the UK meant that employment opportunities were primarily limited to the financial services industry. Determined to pursue her passion, Ahlya left PwC and sent out her CV to the leading publishing companies including Condé Nast, the publisher of illustrious magazines such as Vogue, Tatler and GQ. Ahlya was hired by Vogue as an Assistant Business Manager to the Chairman of Condé Nast International. “It was me and the Business Manager working for the Chairman, so there were the three of us and it was wonderful. It was like a two-year learn-everything-about-magazines from the savviest people on the planet. You got to talk to all the MDs as you were talking on behalf of the Chairman so you had a very honest relationship with people because you weren’t at the bottom trying to scrape your way up a ladder,” recalls Ahlya.
Ahlya worked on entering new territories such as South Africa and Russia and was based in Russia for two years while working on the launch of Russian Vogue. It was a fascinating time to be in Russia as Ahlya witnessed the country’s transition from communism to its embrace of capitalism. “I initially went out for three months and ended up staying for two years and worked on the launch of Russian Vogue. GQ was launched when I was there. They even have Russian Tatler, which is amazing. It’s unbelievable that a country which had no social life twenty years ago now has this incredible society magazine which is doing really well,” says Ahlya.
On returning to the UK, Ahlya joined the famous society magazine Tatler. “I never wanted to work anywhere else. I am very blessed that I don’t consider what I do work. I work with amazing, gifted, talented people who are at the top of their game so I am very lucky. It is hard work but I am very blessed that I enjoy it,” says Ahlya.
With two small children, Ahlya has learnt to successfully juggle the demands of her career with motherhood. She credits her workplace for its supportive attitude towards working mothers, “Madeline Albright said that there is a special place in hell for women who don’t help other women in the workplace and I am very lucky to work in an environment which is actually very female friendly. We have the option to take a year’s maternity leave, most of which is paid. I took a year off with both my children so I only went back to work after having Lara and Sabrina when they were 10-months old. I had spent the majority of their first year with them, which I don’t think many people do. I think we are very lucky to have that as an option because when you go back to work, you are 100% ready to go back to work,” explains Ahlya.
Managing her time between work and family is Ahlya’s overarching priority, “Time is the most precious commodity that we have and I think we waste it,” asserts Ahlya. In order to effectively manage competing priorities in today’s high pressured life, Ahlya recommends keeping things as simple as possible: “Simplify your life and that’s how you juggle. Keep it as simple as possible because then you are not going to be too overwhelmed.”
Coming from a close-knit family, Ahlya appreciates the support of her parents who live nearby: “It takes a village — I have a lot of help. I live four miles away from my parents. My brother is close by. My sister is in Lahore but that works out because I have a base there. My sister is amazing, she is an amazing mother; she is so interested in her children and is so proactive with them. I don’t think I am as adept at motherhood!” says Ahlya.
In fact, the women in her family are a continuous source of inspiration, “My mother is one of five sisters, all of whom are amazingly accomplished, brilliant, funny, witty and strong in their own ways. I saw that growing up.”
Through her work, Ahlya has also met women who have been exemplary role models, “I have worked with amazing women all my life who have been great role models and the fact that they show you that it can be done. Our new editor, Catherine Ostler, is married with three children; Anna Harvey, who I worked with at Russian Vogue is married and has four children and does an amazing job. She is Vice President Editorial Director for New Markets, Condé Nast International and flies around the world.”
But Ahlya also acknowledges the support and encouragement of the men she has worked with throughout her career and her father for the values he has instilled within her family. “The men I have worked with have also been amazing. Jonathan Newhouse who is the Chairman of Condé Nast International is definitely the most brilliant man I have ever worked for. My father has been an amazing role model to me, he is an incredibly talented lawyer but also somebody of incredible integrity and morality which a lot of people have lost sight of in the last 10 or 15 years.”
However, Ahlya feels that women need to give themselves more credit, “I think women should celebrate other women, I don’t think we do enough.”
In spite of her dazzling career success, Ahlya remains refreshingly humble, soft and down-to-earth, in admiration of the women around her, “Women inspire me because I think they are amazing creatures, they are born into adversity in so many ways and they overcome those adversities on a daily basis.”
