A changing of the guard

Since arriving in the post of Editor back in late 2022, I have worked hard to modernise and evolve ESD, and it has been an absolute privilege to lead this magazine through its most significant transition in many years.

Looking back over the past three years, I am proud of what ESD has managed to achieve, with highlights including fifty award nominations and eight award wins across the DMAs, AMAs, and EMPA, a wonderful redesign of the magazine, bringing a plethora of excellent new contributors on board, and growing our audience. I have thoroughly enjoyed editing many of the finely-crafted articles written by our fantastic network of contributors, and I would like to extend my sincere heartfelt thanks to them for all their hard work – it’s been a pleasure working with you all!

However, the time has come for both myself and News Editor Peter Felstead to stand down from the ESD editorial team, and hand over the reins to a new guard. My successor will be David Saw, and I would like to wish him smooth sailing as he takes the helm.

Mark Cazalet

Having edited a major weekly defence magazine full-time for 17 years up to the end of 2021, my first year going freelance was inevitably a challenge, but when Mark asked me to be the News Editor for ESD from the beginning of 2023 I soon found a home from home.

Mark had already turned ESD into a title to be reckoned with in defence journalism, but over the last three years I have done my utmost to contribute to that legacy.

As Mark and I move on to pastures new, I wish our successors all the very best in maintaining ESD as a prime source of high-quality reporting in the global defence arena.

Peter Felstead