Page 42 - Adnews Magazine Sep-Oct 2020

Emerging Leaders
And the winners are...
Rebecca Drummond
Strategy Director, Wavemaker, Sydney Rebecca has made it her mission to drive purpose and change beyond her “nine-to-five”. To improve mental health and well- being at work, Rebecca proac-
Nick Thomas Head of Investment (Marketplace), Mediacom Nick’s nomination says he demonstrates maturity, determination, busi- ness acumen and a visionary approach to situations well beyond his years. Not only has he improved staff retention rates and happiness scores among his team, he helped lead the campaign for marriage equality on behalf of the Australian Marriage Equality Group which resulted in 61.6 per cent of voters voting “yes” and a change in legislation. Nick did all of this while managing his large client remit. The judges said: “Nick has a strong, impressive list of achievements. The work he does daily, alongside his advocacy for diversity and inclusion show Nick is a true leader.”
tively launched a GroupM well- ness initiative that prompted 600+ staff to make it a KPI. She also launched Wavemaker Passion Projects with the aim of nurturing young Wavemaker talent. The ini- tiative gives $200 annually to each employee to fuel a passion beyond work. During the past summer’s horrific bushfires, she also co-founded Smoggys, a brand of brightly patterned face masks, to fund raise for the Rural Fire Service. It raised $19,127. The judges said: “Rebecca demon- strated she is able to uplift those around her, whether it be through a cause-led passion to do good in the community or to educate
others in the industry.”
Sam Pierson National Client Director, Studio, Initiative
In 2018, Mediabrands restructured and Sam became solely responsi- ble for a demanding patch of creative clients with skeleton resources. During this time the largest creative account was at risk for pitch. Sam not only retained the account but secured a retainer worth 300 per cent of its original value. This enabled Sam to expand the team and provided the founda- tion for Initiative Studio’s creative pillar. Two years on, Sam has secured 12 new clients, achieved a client retention rate of 90 per cent and the creative pillar now represents 60 per cent of Initiative Studio’s revenue. He is Initiative’s youngest ever national client director. The judges said: “Not only is Sam clearly good at his job — being handpicked for leadership advancements early on — but his advocacy for the LGTBQI+ commu- nity shows clear signs of a leader who contributes on an ‘X factor’.”
Rachael Townsley Head of Marketing, APAC, Quantcast Rachael is described as a “natural leader” who “fearlessly pioneers marketing programs to educate the wider advertising industry”. She also has passion for mentoring and empowering women which saw her launch Quantcast Women’s Network within Australia. This initiative was launched to inspire the women
Nick Thomas
Christie Ding
Rebecca Drummond
Sam Pierson
Rachael Townsley
Scott Laird