Meet the team

Stefan was born in Kenya in 1970 where his French mother and English father had met and were living and working. Following the birth of his sister, the family moved to Godalming in 1973. Stefan was educated locally at Busbridge School and the Royal Grammar School, Guildford. In 1990, he joined the Godalming based publisher Colour Library Books before being lured away to London in 1996 where he joined Dorling Kindersley and later Penguin Books, where he was Business Development Manager.

Between 2003 and 2008 he was Sales and Business Development Manager for Trotman and Crimson Publishing where he worked four days a week while running his own wine business called Field&Vine. Between 2006 and 2008, he was the publisher of Grapestalk, the online wine magazine for the Association of Small Direct Wine Merchants.

In 2007, Stefan was elected a Godalming Town and Waverley Borough Councillor for Godalming Charterhouse and re-elected in 2011 and 2015. He was leader of Godalming Town Council from 2014-2019 and a member of Waverley Borough Council’s Executive for eight years until he stepped down in 2016. In May 2019, he retired from Godalming Town and Waverley Borough Councils and was elected to Elstead Parish Council where he lives.

Stefan is a strong supporter of his local community. He helped establish GOLO – The Godalming Lottery, fundraised for the Godalming Bandstand, is a Friend of Godalming Woolsack Rotary, a member of the Godalming Trust, the Lutyens Trust, Brooklands Museum Trust and a founder member of the Goodwood Road Racing Club. Together with a close friend Jane, he took over the annual GUTS Classic Motor Tour in 2014, which has raised over £45,000 to fight bowel cancer at the Royal Surrey Hospital. He was also a trustee of The Clockhouse in Milford between 2019-2021.

He started Vantage Publishing in 2009 having seen the need for local community magazines in the Surrey Hills area. He is married to Mike, a Surgeon-Captain in the Royal Navy, and they live with their three black labradors Annie, Humphrey and Fergus in Elstead, Surrey and Alverstoke, Hampshire.

Marcus was born in Bristol in 1969, has a younger brother who now lives in New Zealand; but believes it’s nothing personal. He spent a few years of his early childhood in the 1970s with his parents in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait as his father was a Civil Engineer, and this opened his eyes at an early age to travel.

On returning to the UK he went to school in Bristol, and then on to Southampton University to study Geography. He started his career proper in the paper trade, firstly in marketing and then in sales.

Marcus is a family man and lives in Godalming, has 4 grown up children, two daughters and two sons, whom he adores and is extremely proud of.

Marcus first became friends with Stefan back in the early 1990s. Marcus and Stefan’s friendship developed as they had a common interest as are both huge petrolheads. Marcus started working with Stefan at Vantage Publishing back in 2009, so more than 14 years now. He loves meeting such a huge variety of local business owners, running a myriad of types of businesses, and loves the fact that our publications make a real positive difference to the community and to local people’s lives.

Eleanor grew up in Cobham and has lived in Surrey her whole life, more recently Guildford and now lives in Farncombe with her boyfriend Niall and their Romanian foster dog.

Eleanor decided on a career change following 6 years as a manager for a popular supermarket chain and is excited to get more involved with the local community.

She loves cooking, spending time with family and friends, growing vegetables at her allotment and drinking local fizz!

Nick was born in Zimbabwe but has lived in England for all but 10 months of his life. Angie was born in Canada and came to England at the age of eight. They first met at the age of 10 when Angie ran in the sister’s race at Barrow Hills School but no interest was shown until Nick went on to St. George’s College in Weybridge.

Nick qualified as a Chartered Accountant and went on to start a paper merchanting business which he ran for 25 years. He and Angie have lived in Godalming for 43 years and have two children and six grandchildren, all living locally. Their daughter Sarah is married to Marcus, above. Being retired, they now enjoy golf, cooking, gardening, Scrabble, pilates and travelling and of course editing the Jottings for VantagePoint Magazine.

Phil is our staff writer and photographer. He has been involved in publishing, copy writing and photography for many years and lives in Godalming with his partner Serena.

Humphrey Max is a black labrador and is the VantagePoint office dog. He loves walking, eating, playing fetch, eating, being around people, eating, playing with other dogs, eating, having tummy tickles, eating, swimming in the sea and in his pool in South West France, eating and sleeping.

He lives mainly in Elstead with his dad Stefan where he has three beds and supervises all cooking activity, but spends weekends with his other dad Mike and step-dogs Annie and Fergus, sometimes by the seaside in Alverstoke, Hampshire.