Page 45 - Adnews Magazine Sep-Oct 2020

Josh Slighting
Kirby McDonald
Danielle St George
Coopers within the first two months of lockdown, both huge successes with follow-ups scheduled. The judges said: “Faced with a very raw challenge, Kate showed exceptional leadership skills and amazing care for her team and clients to achieve the best results for all parties.”
Kirby McDonald Client Director — Government, Wavemaker, Adelaide Kirby’s nomination says she is “a future star of our industry, particu- larly as a young female with the capability to be an agency CEO in under 10 years”. One of Wavemaker’s youngest client directors at age 27, Kirby has been leading a team of more than 10 people on one of the South Australian government accounts since 2017. In addition to her daily role at the agency, Kirby has also held a secretary role at the Adelaide Media Club for a number of years. The judges said: “Kirby is a young gun who is mature beyond her years. She has achieved phe- nomenal results in the government accounts she has led including for recent campaigns to help stop the spread of COVID-19 in SA.”
Hayley Smith
Head of Campaign Management,
Verizon Media
Hayley consistently has one of the highest engagement scores and man- agement effectiveness scores in the entire company globally, at 82% and 100% respectively. An ongoing chal- lenge to Hayley’s role is the expecta- tion to do more with less. During a period of consolidation for the busi- ness, Hayley was tasked with launch- ing and supervising a team based in India to manage process-driven tasks. By communicating daily, clearly defining goals and pre-empt- ing problems, Hayley guided her team to success. They now manage 1500 tasks per month allowing local teams to focus on client service and driving revenue. The judges said: “Managing a team of more than 20 and an extraordinary number of tasks, Hayley is a stellar leader. We also liked that she is described by her colleagues as a ‘mentor to many’.”
Luke Burr
Kate Prowse
in partnership with The Mirabel Foundation which raised more than $40,000 for charity. He also regularly runs internal upskilling sessions as part of Sales University and Builders30 initiatives, internal programs that are designed to upskill the sales team at Verizon Media. The judges said: “Luke already has a wonderful CV and is headed on a good trajectory as he continues to drive results and foster a great culture among his team and the broader industry in Melbourne.”
Danielle St George General Manager, Media, Hyland
After a sudden medical emergency, Danielle found herself at home for more than a month, immobile after surgery during a time when she was in the process of recruiting for a short-staffed team. Unable to solve the challenge of more work than staff, Danielle sought to support her team in an uncon- ventional way. Teaching herself how to code, she used the opportunity to develop a proprietary tool that has saved over 1000 hours of admin for others through automating data processing, visualisation and presentation. The judges said: “Danielle overcame a substantial challenge in difficult circum- stances. As a result, she has saved her team time and boosted the amount of work the agency can achieve, which is an impressive feat for any leader.”
Kate Prowse Group Account Director, The Taboo Group Kate is the youngest member of the leadership team, as well as a director of SheSays Melbourne, and always brings valuable contributions to the table. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Taboo’s active clients went from 13 to three almost overnight. The agency’s revenue plummeted and layoffs were immi- nent. Using her trusted relationships, Kate was able to help a number of clients to pivot — and quickly. She oversaw two huge campaigns for Telstra and
Hayley Smith
www.adnews.com.au | September-October2020 45