sophia stuart is a writer, photographer and award-winning digital strategist/creative director with over 17 years experience in building digital products within the USA & international (Asia/Europe) publishing and Hollywood movie industries. Voted one of the “Top 21 Social Media Superstars” by Min Online in 2009, she won a Webby Award for Cosmo Mobile USA (2008) and an MVA for Cosmo International Digital Strategy (2010) while at Hearst as head of mobile (USA) and then head of digital (International) with responsibility for the digital vision/strategy for 300 international brands including Cosmo, Harper’s BAZAAR and Esquire in countries including China, India, Hong Kong, Italy, France and South Africa.

Signed by the literary agent Lisa Gallagher at Sanford J Greenburger, sophia has a book deal with Hay House: “How To Stay Sane In A Crazy World” comes out on Valentine’s Day 2014. Her first one woman photography exhibition was at sNice cafe/gallery space in SoHo, NYC May 2013. She is currently consulting for Sony TV/Cosine Three, on the Advisory Board for fashion start-up, Buy My Closet and has personal clients in Hollywood for whom she manages social media strategy and more.

Most recently she was a Executive Director, Digital for Hearst Magazines International, a Non-Executive Director for the UK Trade & Investment USA Council and digital advisor to the Smithsonian.

so here’s the longer version…….

Born in England, sophia was educated at Brighton College and London University. She joined The Independent, a national UK newspaper in 1992 and was the first female journalist to write about digital for the paper in 1995. She then wrote widely about technology and popular culture for Screen International, International Broadcast, Punch, The Guardian, Time Out (London), Out (USA) and blue and Black + White magazines (Studio Magazines, Australia). During this time, sophia’s photographs were published in Lorraine Gamman’s book “Female Fetishism” and her portraits of underground film-maker (Angela) Hans Schierl in Shebang. In 1997 she consulted at Conde Nast for (UK) Vogue’s first web site and then joined Hearst Magazines UK in 1999 as Digital Strategist, launching 22 digital sites for Cosmopolitan, Esquire and more.

In 2001, sophia moved to Los Angeles and directed a range of digital projects  for clients including New Line Cinema, 20th Century Fox and Neven Vision (now part of Google). She also worked on the movie, “The Devil Wears Prada”, writing the mock “Runway” magazine, sent to the international press, and online scavenger hunt game for the movie’s release.

From 2006 onwards, sophia re-joined Hearst, firstly as head of mobile at Hearst Magazines USA, then as Executive Director, Digital for Hearst Magazines International, setting the vision and strategy and overseeing digital growth to 189 sites and 333 digital editions across Hearst’s brands in China, Russia, India, Europe and beyond. During this time she spoke widely at conferences including O’Reilly, Nasdaq/British Consulate event, Magazine Publishers of America, MMA, IAB, Mobile Advertising (SF), ASME and 4As.

In the spring of 2011, sophia got diagnosed with three tumors in her neck and started writing the blog teamgloria (teamgloria.com) to get through surgery and medical leave by documenting glorious people, places and things.