After a brief spell in local newspapers and at Melody Maker magazine, McIlheney was appointed editor of Smash Hits in 1986, seeing its circulation double to 800,000 during his time in the job.
[2] In 1994, McIlheney became managing director of EMAP Metro, publishers of Empire and Smash Hits, as well as other titles such as Q and Mojo, and just after they had acquired FHM.
In 1999 he launched Heat and a year later became chief executive of EMAP Elan, publishers of Elle, Red, and The Face.
In 2003, McIlheney moved into new product development, overseeing the launch of Zoo both in the UK and Australia.
[5] In 2009 he launched media consultancy mcilheneybovis with newspaper art director Julian Bovis and has written for publications including The Word magazine.