About Focus

Focus is a world leading publisher of corporate and stakeholder custom books (including governments in Australia and around the world, government departments and industry associations).

By integrating books into their positioning and marketing strategy Focus provides our clients with:

• a high-quality, permanent interface to the client's customers and key stakeholders, and
• access to business and government decision makers worldwide.

The Focus story

Focus was founded in 1989 by the current Publisher, Jaqui Lane and leading Australian businessman, Steven Rich.

Our mission was to create high-quality books for business and government. Over the past 19 years Focus has published over 400 titles, worked throughout Australia, Asia, the Middle East and Europe.

International trade and industry sector books have secured the support of many of the world's business and government leaders.

In 2009 Hallmark Editions acquired Focus which now operates as the Custom book division of Hallmark.

Focus Executive Management Team

Jaqui Lane - Chief Executive Officer
jaqui@focus.com.au

Jaqui co-founded Focus in 1989 with Steven Rich. In 2006 she undertook a MBO and is now the sole owner of the company.

Jaqui has worked with business and government leaders around the world creating their individual books or developing major bi-lateral and trade books. These publishing projects have carried her across Europe, Asia and the Middle East as well as throughout Australia.

As the owner and CEO of Focus she is driving the expansion of the company into international markets.

Educated with a first class honours degree in politics (Auckland,) her masters thesis was on New Zealand-USSR trade and commercial relations from 1900-1984. She worked in the New Zealand National Party for three years as youth director and advisor to Ruth Richardson, MP.

A published author, she co-wrote Champions of Enterprise - The History of Entrepreneurship in Australia, 1788-1990 for the ASX.

A proponent of empowering women in business and commerce, Jaqui is currently the New South Wales President of Women Chiefs of Enterprises International, the local arm of a worldwide business women owner's organization.
www.wcei.com.au

In addition, Jaqui is on the board of the Women's College within the University of Sydney (the leading residential college for university women in Australia).
www.thewomenscollege.com.au

As founding member of the newly formed Benjamin Andrew Footpath Library Group, this charity was established to provide books for homeless people in Sydney, Australia.
www.footpathlibrary.org

Memberships

• Fellow Australia Institute of Company Directors: www.companydirectors.com.au
• Member of Australia - India Business Council: www.aibc.org.au
• Member of Australia Arab Chamber of Commerce and Industries: www.austarab.com.au
• Member of Australia Japan Business Association: www.ajba.com.au

Peter Hock - Editorial Director
peter.hock@halledit.com.au

It was the prospect of producing first-class publications for all sorts of clients from all over the world that drew Peter to Focus.

Early in his career, Peter was hired for a week-long project by the Sydney-based design and publishing house Billy Blue Group for a week to write an in-house magazine for Lend Lease Corporation. He ended up leaving four years later after becoming associate creative director and, in the words of founder and creative director Ross Renwick, "the most important person in the organization".

In his subsequent role as writer/creative director at corporate communications specialist Horniak & Canny, Peter wrote and directed all sorts of jobs in all media for a broad range of prestigious Australian clients, including Bankers Trust Australia, Coca-Cola Amatil, AMP, Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Fairfax Corporation.

A native of Sydney, Australia, Peter holds an honours degree in English literature from Macquarie University.