About Sofia: Sofia is a long way from the horse farm in a small city in Sweden where she grew up, and she has shown that the hard work and discipline of farm life can translate well into the business world. As interim director of ad operations for Schibsted Marketing services, Sofia’s  strong business drive, combined with her natural curiosity, willingness to learn, and innate people skills are helping her acquire an impressive amount of experience in multiple areas. She is part of the product and platform leadership team and, before that, worked in strategy and business. As part of that division, she helped develop the B2B advertising strategy at Schibsted Marketing Services and led multiple strategically important projects on behalf of the leadership team across markets, brands, and functions. Her curiosity is shown in her relentless pursuit of learning: She recently finished a course in disruptive strategy at Harvard Business School, has a master’s degree in Innovation and Industrial Management from the University of Gothenburg, School of Business, Economics, and Law, and studied Mandarin for four months at Fudan University, Shanghai. She graduated from university with top scores and received a scholarship for winning “the best master thesis within the area of retailing,” which was a case study at IKEA.

Trey Dean
Advertising Director
Gannett
United States

About Trey: Since joining Gannett in 2014, Trey has proven himself as a leader, mentor, and product knowledge expert in the digital space. Although he was only 20 when he joined the team, he was promoted to manager by the age of 22 and became a successful, goal-achieving director at 25. In addition to honing the skills required to lead a sales team, Trey has excelled in taking on additional responsibilities in the organisation, such as being a key contributor to internal teams for the launch of the company’s new advertising sales structure, sales lead for the launch of new company products, and lead for all digital sales training within his sales region. He also established himself as a subject matter expert for auto advertising sales in the Pacific West. Trey has demonstrated he has what it takes to lead a sales group with accountability, but even more importantly, he leads with optimism, kindness, and empathy — which is part of what makes him such a well-rounded leader.

About Sarah: After receiving her BA in communications from the University of South Alabama, Sarah joined Alabama Media Group (AMG) in 2018 and was quickly recognised as a rising star within the company. By 2021, she had risen to the position of ad operations manager, and she continues to be an outstanding example of leadership. Her daily duties include establishing and implementing departmental policies and procedures to ensure that clients’ advertising campaigns are both effective and efficient. But it is her passionate approach to work that people notice most about her. Sarah’s outgoing personality, positivity, and integrity have influenced all those around her. And under her leadership, the company has seen minimal account churn — something attributed to her attention to detail and willingness to help those around her succeed. In addition to her work with AMG, Sarah has shown her enthusiasm as a team player in the community. She participated in Leadership Jackson County, a 10-month training programme designed to develop and enhance community leadership, served on AMG's Leadership Council in 2020 and 2021, and was named the Resource Person of the Year two years in a row.

Shreyashi Shetty
Senior Officer
The Times of India
India

About Shreyashi: Shreyashi started her career with The Times Group in the Integrated Marketing Communications Team, handling a few small categories. But she quickly showed she was ready for more. Today she handles brands across categories including automobile, pharmaceuticals, retail, consumer durables, and consumer services, and manages portfolios worth millions of dollars. “I have always been passionate about media as an industry,” she said. “We hold the power to craft messages and communications that can move people and bring about large-scale changes.” One of those major changes was bringing awareness to India’s diabetes problem, which saw a 64% increase over the quarter century, making the country the second largest diabetes hub in the world: “We reached out to our partner to curate an exclusive campaign to help people manage diabetes better through continuous glucose monitoring,” she said. “We curated a 360 campaign and released content pieces backed by experts to help the readers.” Shreyashi is energised by working on such meaningful messages and, looking forward, has created a five-year career plan: “I see myself expanding my horizons by jumping in feet first and learning as much as I can, as quickly as I can, with the organisation.”

Hesty Utami
Programmatic Lead
Emtek Digital
Indonesia

About Hesty: Even before she joined Emtek Digital, Hesty was mastering the art of sales, growing revenue for the tech start-up Qraved by nearly 100x annually. She also helped Gojek ticketing grow its YoY revenue by 300% — and then the pandemic hit. During that crisis, she needed to make a move and turned to the media industry. Now, she has helped grow Emtek’s month-on-month programmatic revenue by 100%. “I want to contribute to the development of the media industry, specifically in the OTT platform to support local media to grow by working hands-in-hands with ad tech through data monetisation,” Hesty said. As part of her contributions to the team, she initiated the data warehouse project and finished it in nine months — something that was integral in increasing Emtek Digital’s programmatic business revenue growth. Hermawan Sutanto, COO of the company’s Vidio.com start-up, said Utami has not only developed the existing accounts with the company but has been successful in attracting new advertisers in the programmatic environment, allowing the company to grow its inventory incrementally: “The cherry on top is that she also builds the business with data in mind.” 

About Gabriella: An exceptionally analytical mind has helped Gabriella quickly forge a reputation as one to watch in the news media industry. Throughout her career, she has focused on mastering the discipline of optimisation analytics, and as her expertise has grown, she has become the go-to subject matter expert in experimentation at the Financial Times. Gabbi works with teams to encourage them to make data-driven decisions. In that way, she has been able to influence many different strategic projects, including optimising the FT barrier page to better convert the right audiences and providing editorial with the tools and skills to conduct A/B testing with headlines. She is willing to work beyond the traditional news media boundaries, as proven by her collaboration with FT’s consultancy arm, FT Strategies, where she offers her guidance and expertise to an array of international media companies. According to the colleague who nominated her, Gabbi offers a rare blend of thoughtfulness and clever thinking, making her a valuable asset to the industry: “There is a lot of pressure in our industry to make faster decisions, and Gabbi always balances this with the value of making the right decision.” 

About Meera: Meera is passionate about data, and she wants others in the industry to share that passion. Before joining the news media industry in 2020, Meera had founded a SaaS company that focused on reducing food waste using technology. Since turning her attention to the news media industry, she has used machine learning to help develop analytics tools, led product development initiatives to commercialise first-party data, and now is leading the development of Big Tech platforms’ data strategy to improve and diversify revenue streams through data. She said embracing data is something that will be critical for the future and noted that while media companies have an abundance of data, they “lack the mindset of how to be data-led and drive decisions using data.” Today, they use it more as a supporting tool rather than a critical function, and she said that is slowing the evolution of the media industry. “Digitalisation has provided us with rich information on the behaviours of customers and created an opportunity to become more customer-led,” she said. “As an industry, we need to get better at innovating with technology to serve evolving customer needs.”

About Arvind: Arvind is excited to be leading change at The Hindu Group, and he has wasted no time in putting his ideas into action. Since becoming product manager at the 143-year-old legacy media company last year, he has scaled its Sportstar publication from an average of 3.5 million monthly visitors to an all-time high of 10 million — and he’s just getting started. Arvind said he is proud to help the company explore and expand its digital capacity, which has “made me realise my capability of influencing and setting the vision while being empathetic.” It also has made him set his sights on making a difference in reshaping how technology is viewed within the news media industry. Instead of leading with content and using technology merely as a delivery system, he said putting technology in the driver’s seat could change how content is selected and could result in business growth while delivering greater value to the audience. “I want to generate awareness about how to integrate tech into the media world with velocity and depth,” he said, “so the media industry becomes the media-tech industry.”

About Dick: Three years ago, Dick started his career as a trainee/junior data analyst at the B2C/consumer market department of Mediahuis Noord (then NDC Media Group). Since then, he has proven to be a fast learner and strategic thinker, which has led him into the position of senior data analyst B2C. He has shown an exceptional ability for understanding the B2C strategy and is able to depend upon the data to guide his decision-making process. Because he has such an excellent grasp of critical thinking and asks a lot of questions, his analyses have consistently led to actions that result in operational improvements. Among the milestones he has achieved in this short time are the redesign of the B2C data landscape for Mediahuis Noord, setting up a new budget model, conducting a price sensitivity analysis and coordinating the segmented price increase, and setting up multiple A/B tests on pricing. He also created a data dashboard for the optimisation of the customer service team. His proactive thinking and useful insights have made Dick a valuable part of the team and have made a considerable contribution to subscriber growth as well as the company’s transition to digital.

About Gabriel: After graduating from the University of Sao Paulo in 2016 with a degree in social sciences, Gabriel had many career opportunities available. But the one he most wanted to pursue was in data journalism, so he joined the team of Nexo Jornal as a data scientist. Since then, Gabriel has not only earned his master’s degree, but he has moved into the role of infographics editor at the Brasilian publication. As a data scientist, Gabriel became fascinated with how to use journalism to communicate data, and he helped shape Nexo Jornal’s innovative editorial approach to data journalism. His work has won Gabriel and his team some of the most prestigious international awards and led to him being offered a management role with the company.  Now, in addition to his editorial expertise, he plays a key role in the strategic leadership within the company while also guiding the vision of the infographics desk. In addition to his understanding of data journalism, Gabriel has impressed others with his eagerness to continual learning. He has embraced the vision that editorial, product, and business must work side by side and is intent on leading his teams with this vision.

Anna-Katharina Kölbl
Head of Business Development News Media
Funke
Germany

About Anna-Katharina: With a passion for digital publishing and an impressive knowledge of digital business models, Anna-Katharina is eager to share her skills with others — while also increasing her own knowledge. Her endless curiosity, coupled with outstanding creativity and a hands-on mentality, combine to make her an authentic, ambitious young leader who wants to bring people together. She envisions a modern world of journalism that is sustainable and meaningful, and she is determined to be part of that world. After completing her bachelor’s degree, Anna-Katharina began working on earning her Ph.D., while at the same time working at a local charity. She later joined an e-commerce start-up based in Amsterdam, where she led the strategy development process and had the opportunity to participate in an international accelerator programme. In 2020, she joined Funke, where she started working as executive assistant to Director General Christoph Rüth. She has since been promoted to head of business development and leads strategic transformation and new business projects.  

Paul Ostwald
Lead New Markets
Ringier AG (Ringier Sports Media/Global Media Unit)
Germany

About Paul: Having worked in many aspects of the news media industry has given Paul the perspective needed to understand the challenges faced by different departments. After studying at Oxford, he worked for the German-speaking publications FAZ and NZZ before launching his own media start-up, Forum.eu. As CEO of Forum.eu, he grew the team to 27 full-time employees and landed on Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list. Now, he is applying his breadth and depth of experience to Ringier AG, where he is part of a team working on creating a new business unit centred around sports media. His role includes leading the new markets they are planning to enter — either through new ventures or mergers and acquisitions — and managing the processes. Recognising that the merger of sports media, tech, and Web 3 technologies poses a challenge and a solution to existing sport media platforms, he said his next focus is on developing products and strategies that will have a positive impact on audiences and commercial outcomes. “The primary focus on commercial outcomes often leads media companies to hold back with innovation,” he said. “It should be innovation first, monetisation second.”

Kaushala Ratnayake
Head of Strategy
Bauer Media
United Kingdom

About Kaushala: As part of the group leadership team at Bauer Media, Kaushala is leading the business in designing and delivering strategies that will transform its publishing business. Strategy seems to be in Kaushala’s blood. Early in her career, she held strategy analyst roles in the innovation space, working with science, technology, and start-up businesses. That led to her becoming the youngest board member ever selected to sit on New Zealand’s leading science and technology commercialisation investment board. Before joining Bauer, she led strategic projects at the BBC, which directly influenced the company’s long-term future. At Bauer Media, Kaushala has led the sustainability programme, helping set up the company to become a media leader in sustainability, a pivotal issue for this generation. She established its first sustainability strategy and approach — comprised of key pledges and initiatives to ensure action is accelerated — and also founded the Bauer Sustainability Council. Kaushala recognises the value of collaboration and works seamlessly with leadership and sustainability champions across the business to deliver approaches that are relevant to everyone. Her capability frameworks have ensured all employees have access to sustainability information, empowering everyone to act and enable the sustainability strategy.

Kamaria Roberts
Deputy Director/Local News Transformation
American Press Institute
United States

About Kamaria: One key focus area for news organisations to better serve their communities involves the values of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. And Kamaria is wholly committed to making these values part of the conversation. Kamaria co-leads the Table Stakes Local News Transformation programme at the American Press Institute, which helps news organisations shift to digital and audience-focused business and content strategies. Her role includes designing programme curricula, supervising coaches, and advising organisations on the challenges they face. She previously served as a coach in the Table Stakes programme, where she helped the organisation she was coaching successfully expand its reach to Black, Hispanic, and LGBTQIA community members through listening sessions and more diversified content. As part of her mission to expand the reach of diversity, Kamaria also is the product owner for BetterNews.org, where she selects, edits, and promotes case studies and shares wins of Table Stakes participants to give more visibility to the lessons and strategies throughout the industry.  Her focus on inclusion is proving to be vital in an industry that is falling short of serving large communities, and she remains committed to helping companies change their practices and make important strides toward inclusion.

Julia Tran
COO
Medienhaus Aachen
Germany

About Julia: In Germany, there’s a word for finding a way to make things go forward without losing sight of the details. It’s called “Gründlichkeit,” and it perfectly describes Julia’s leadership style. Julia started her career as an executive assistant at Medienhaus Aachen, the media company that publishes the Aachener Zeitung and Aachener Nachrichten. In 2019 she became responsible for the business development of a diverse range of activities; in addition to publishing, the company also has distribution activities, a bicycle sharing service, and a printing plant. Despite her young age, Julia became COO in 2021 and helped prepare the company for its acquisition by Mediahuis. Today, her responsibility includes leading a company of 400 people and, in addition to understanding the company from a journalistic and commercial perspective, she runs the procurement of the accounting for the company. Her ability to understand all aspects of operations has allowed her to build bridges between all areas of Medienhaus Aachen. Whether she is developing a digital advertising strategy, overseeing the print editions and the overhead, or introducing new technological integrations, Julia has a keen sense of business and leadership — and also helps guide new, young talent as it comes aboard.

About Eduardo: Eduardo began his career working in Argentina at a large media outlet, but traded that experience for the opportunity to work in a small newsroom and grow digital journalism in Guatemala. As content director, he is eager to respond to new formats and further his quest for innovation. Within just a few months, Eduardo was able to triple the monthly audience of the news site republica.gt. He also implemented an ambitious strategy that included a paradigm shift in the editorial team toward a more digital mindset, SEO positioning strategy, redesign and migration of the site, training of the digital team and audiences, and implementation of new news formats. Through his guidance, the newsroom changed the way it looked at social networks and different digital broadcasting channels. And through this journey, he transformed a mostly analog newsroom into a 3.0 newsroom. As part of this transformation, Eduardo took it upon himself to train the team and grow the company’s audience. The experience has been rewarding for him, and he has no plans of stopping now: “I plan to continue to develop in the digital media industry, lead new teams, and look for opportunities to build new stories.”

Dan Lutaaya
Journalist
24/7
Uganda

About Dan: As a broadcast journalist, Dan produced investigations that have touched the nation, invoked debate, and forced policy changes. He broke the story of the rise in water levels of Lake Victoria (the largest freshwater lake in Africa), investigated organised gangs, enchroachment on wetlands, illegal dealings in organisations, and injustices in health services. His highly lauded work has won national awards, and in 2021 he founded an ambitious news project called 24/7, Uganda’s first round-the-clock news service as well as the first fully digital news service in Uganda. The channel was the first in Uganda to put news content on social media platforms like Twitter and Instagram, and this is just the beginning. “I hope to build 24/7 to become Uganda’s most-watched news service and expand the news service to the rest of East Africa,” he said. He also plans to develop an app where people can not only watch the channel but contribute content through an open-source newsroom. “In the next five years, the 24/7 Foundation and Academy should be created to train the next breed of digital journalists who will use new media to tell compelling stories,” he said.

Glenn McConnell
Political Reporter
Stuff Ltd
New Zealand

About Glenn: A journalist for Stuff, Glenn is from Te Ātiawa and Ngāti Tama iwi (tribes) and began his journalism career at age 18. He quickly became an important voice for rangatahi Māori — the young indigenous people in Aotearoa New Zealand. He has used his position as a journalist to draw attention to the issues facing young people for several years — even though he only recently turned 25 himself. As a political gallery reporter focused on te ao Māori issues, Glenn followed Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern around Europe during her recent visit there. And during the anti-mandate protests in Wellington, he visited the tent city at Parliament and wrote extensively about it. In 2021, at the New Zealand Podcast Awards, Glenn won Silver Awards in the Best New Podcast and Best Culture and Arts Podcast categories for He'll Be Right, his series about masculinity and the modern man. Because he covers highly contentious issues in a public space, Glenn is no stranger to receiving threats and hate mail. But he refuses to be intimidated because he has a single, focused mission: giving a voice to the indigenous Māori who have been marginalised and overlooked for so long.

Aminata E. Sanyang
Journalist
Gambia Radio and Television Services
Gambia

About Aminata: Aminata, a journalist at the Gambia Radio and Television Services (GRTS), wears many hats in the newsroom: producer, news anchor, and reporter. Her tireless efforts have led to an increased focus on the reporting of children’s and women’s issues, crime, security, education, health, and the environment. She also takes on many leadership roles and is considered one of the most reliable journalists in the country. In addition to her work as a journalist, she is the founder of Kids Podium, the biggest children’s platform in Gambia. The national programme gives children early exposure to public speaking, and the programme has become a major yearly event that every Gambian looks forward to. Children are recruited from urban, rural, and disabled communities, including deaf and visually impaired kids. Aminata said she is excited to see her hard work paying off. “It has always been my dream to be an international journalist, and I am glad I am a few steps away from this achievement. I have the ambition and zeal to establish a media house. It has always been my dream to own a broadcasting medium, which shall be established in The Gambia, to reliably and credibly keep the public informed.”

Andrea Thiis-Evensen
Podcast Producer
NewsCast
Australia

About Andrea: Andrea has played a key role in revolutionising the way News Corp Australia tells stories. In 2021, she produced five investigative documentaries with True Crime Australia, including the renowned Mafia’s Web, which placed second in INMA’s Best Use Of Audio category in 2022 — and has racked up more than 200,000 downloads. She also produced and edited the documentary Class Act, which won the 2022 Quill award for Best Podcast. “These projects not only attract a wide listenership of millions of downloads a year, but they have also succeeded in driving subscriptions to NewsCorp,” Andrea said. With podcasting, Andrea has found the ideal outlet for sharing news and telling stories in an entirely new way: “I have a burning passion for radio, and I am constantly working to place Australian podcasters on the world stage,” she said. “I love radio and have since I started working in the industry 10 years ago when I was 16.” Previously, Andrea worked in live radio at ABC Radio Melbourne and with podcasts at both ABC Earshot and NewsCast, and she is excited about the potential for the format. “I believe Australian podcasters are some of the best in the world, but that we have a way to go to be placed on the map for radio documentaries.”

About Sarah: Sarah has packed a lot of experience into her six years in the news business, which began while she was still in college at Wright State University in Ohio. As news writer and editor-in-chief, she led student coverage of breaking news such as a mass shooting in Dayton’s entertainment district and the deadly 2019 Memorial Day tornadoes. Her leadership in the newsroom earned her numerous awards and also helped her land an internship at Cox Media, which led to a full-time role as a digital audience specialist. Today, as social product manager, she is focused on subscription acquisition, social media strategies to engage new subscribers, and developing creative digital content ideas. Sarah’s use of research and data to inform her strategy has driven consistent results and helped her determine which types of content best resonate with the audience. Her experiments have yielded a 5.5% YOY growth on Dayton.com’s Instagram account and a 5% jump on the Dayton Daily News Web site. Her expertise and innovative thinking have also led her to become the newsroom’s social media training leader, and Sarah excels at teaching reporters how to connect with readers on social media and best practices for different social media platforms.

Rijul Chatterjee
Senior Product Manager
HT Digital Streams
India

About Rijul: Rijul discovered his interest in product management through engineering. The electrical engineer with a master’s degree in marketing and supply chain said his education taught him one crucial lesson: “I realised that even though I didn't have much interest in the electrical aspect of things, I still loved to build things from scratch.” When he discovered the world of product ideation, he knew he had found his calling. And today, as senior product manager for HT Digital Streams, Rijul delights in developing consumer-oriented solutions and then validating his gut instincts with proper data analysis. His work is focusing heavily on subscriptions, but he also has been looking at payments as a secondary product to improve the user experience. His efforts have helped HT Digital Streams become one of the leading players in subscription models, and, looking at what he has already accomplished, Rijul said he is looking forward to what he can accomplish in the next few years: “I want to achieve a better version of myself as a product manager by releasing better, more impactful products leading to increased customer satisfaction — plus be an overall better human being.”  

Taishi Ikai
Software Engineer
Nikkei Inc.
Japan

About Taishi: After working as a freelance Web developer in college, Taishi joined Nikkei as a full-stack engineer. Since 2015, he has driven product improvements for the company while leveraging a wide range of skills from the back end to the front end. One of his first projects was to develop Nikkei’s iOS app, which was the flagship product of the online edition and now has 800,000 paid subscribers. “User ratings for the Nikkei app have improved and [it won] the Japanese National Good Design Award in 2017,” he said. Taishi also is in charge of developing Nikkei Wave, an experimental app that is introducing new ways of engaging with the news. Taishi sees these new ways of presenting the news as important vehicles for creating future customers: “If we can engage with young people and people with no experience in the media industry, and try out new ideas that are not bound by precedent one after another, the media industry will be revitalised,” he said. “Engineers, data scientists, and journalists collaborating with mutual respect and working together with a common purpose is the fastest way to create innovative content and products.”

Gabriella Vukelic
Social Media Editor
Newsday
United States

About Gabriella: In meetings to discuss the initiatives that will reshape Newsday, Gabriella is the only person in the room under the age of 30. Yet her voice is one of the most important. Gabriella, who joined the staff as social media producer in 2018, has introduced numerous innovative initiatives that have helped raise both revenue and awareness of the content — particularly as it relates to underused platforms. During the pandemic, she started a daily coronavirus texting service to keep Long Islanders in the know, and of the 6,500+ who signed up, 180 have become digital subscribers. Now, she has turned her attention to social platforms. “I was able to monetise our Facebook videos for the first time, and now am working on Instagram,” she said. “Our storytelling strategy has led to 126 direct subscriptions.” Changing how the company reaches outward includes looking at generational differences within the company. Gabriella said newsrooms need more diverse, younger voices who understand how their generation consumes and shares news: “How do I keep an 81-year-old newspaper relevant in a world where TikTok explainers are breaking barriers? The industry needs more open minds, allowing new generations to enhance the reader experience.” 

Katriina Wallinmaa
Development Manager
Sanoma Media Finland
Finland

About Katriina: Before she entered the news media industry, Katriina spent four years in project and product manager positions for a global IT consultancy. When she brought those skills to Sanoma Media Finland, she quickly became a vital part of the news and feature media team. Today, in addition to her role as development manager, she is product owner for a data and personalisation team and has created an open environment in which journalists, software developers, and data scientists all work together. Her excellent analytical skills allow her to understand and conceptualise complex information, especially when it comes to the use of data in the news media. Because of that, Katriina has been able to translate the needs of both the end user and the journalist to create new data-intensive products. Katriina excels at transforming such needs into requirements the software developers can then address, leading to innovations in things such as content recommendations and journalistic dashboards. But even more important than her analytical abilities is Katriina’s knack for inspiring the individuals and teams around her as she creates an open, trusting environment for multidisciplinary collaboration.

About Felix: Working for a marketing agency during and shortly after college equipped Felix with the tools needed to execute successful paid search campaigns as well as campaigns for display and social. When he began working with South China Morning Post as a marketing executive in brand marketing, he was able to use all the skills he had honed — only now he was approaching them from an in-house perspective. Instead of leveraging paid media channels, Felix started leveraging owned channels to promote SCMP as a brand. He also let his creative side shine, such as helping with the Spirit of Hong Kong Awards, an annual event that honours Hong Kong’s unsung heroes. Felix recently shifted his focus from a branding role to a subscription-driving role, which is creating a change in company strategy. Combining his experience and knowledge in both paid media marketing and owned media marketing, he continues running campaigns to drive users to subscribe to SCMP and he was promoted to assistant manager within six months of joining the department. Regardless of what role he is in, Felix shows his ability to balance data analytics and creative thinking to drive decisions and results.

Devina Heriyanto
Membership Manager
Project Multatuli
Indonesia

About Devina: As membership manager at Project Multatuli, the first membership-focused media company in Indonesia, Devina is part of a team working to restore public trust in media. As if that wasn’t a big enough goal, her individual role is to increase the share of readers revenue to provide the organisation’s income stream. Just nine months after launching the membership programme, she had acquired more than 1,000 members, and their fees covered, on average, about 12% of the total monthly expenses. “To put this in perspective, Reuters Institute in 2022 revealed that only 18% of Indonesians were willing to pay for online news, and around two in three Indonesians thought that the media was under either political or business influence,” she said. Devina is determined to change the perception of the news media in Indonesia, as well as create a thriving business model: “We can create impact through our reporting, become a model on how media can gain readers’ trust and financial support, as well as holding power accountable by siding with the public,” she said. “Because I believe in what we do at Project Multatuli.”

About Emily: While earning her degree in marketing, Emily learned a shocking fact: “The journalism students in my course were advised that only 50% of them would secure a job in the industry,” she said. Now, she works daily to generate revenue that will fund Nine’s newsroom and journalists, securing the future of journalism and attracting new, younger audiences. Emily has become passionate about driving growth, and her innovative thinking and strategic problem-solving have led to rapid advancements within the media company. In 3.5 years, she has held four positions across the retention and acquisition space and has led multiple strategic initiatives. Each of those initiatives has helped realise a financial impact and increase personalisation capabilities. And each success has reinforced Emily’s standing as a key player in the growth of the company, as well as fortifying her own ambitions of becoming a top executive. “Over the next five years, I want to build a team that’s at the forefront of data and personalisation in the media industry,” she said. “I’d like to pioneer more collaboration across departments toward a common goal to continue our growth into the future.” 

Mary-Katharine Phillips
Associate Director/Engagement
Dow Jones/The Wall Street Journal
United States

About Mary-Katharine: A desire to help safeguard democracy led Mary-Katharine into the news media. After earning her master’s degree in economics and studying international affairs while living in Europe, she saw a career in media as her way to be part of the change. Beginning as a media innovation analyst at Twipe, she spent four years learning about the industry and sharing her research globally. After moving back to the United States last year, she joined The Wall Street Journal’s engagement team and now leads a team of managers and associates that creates and delivers omnichannel engagement campaigns for subscribers. Through her efforts, WSJ has created a more dynamic approach to on-site messaging and has changed the way it promotes content to members. Mary-Katharine also is taking aim at inclusion. “News organisations have lost the trust of the communities they serve,” she said. “A critical step in winning the trust of a community is to reflect it. It’s imperative that our industry better supports the training and advancement of individuals from all different races, ages, and life experiences. Inclusion is the key to trust and trust is so important if we expect our industry to not just survive, but thrive.” 

Chitranshu Tewari
Product and Revenue Lead
Newslaundry
India

About Chitranshu: As the first non-editorial hire at India’s Newslaundry start-up six years ago, Chitranshu has played a key role in building revenue models from the ground up. Under his leadership, Newslaundry teams have built a robust subscription product and a reader-revenue stream. “I have led Newslaundry’s journey from a few hundred subscribers to a community of more than 30,000 paying readers,” he said. But he considers his biggest and most important achievement the fact that he has been able to make Newslaundry sustainable entirely through reader revenue, something he calls “a feat that’s rare in the ad-media, independent journalism [space] that Newslaundry operates in.” In addition to creating such a successful revenue model, Chitranshu helped launch The Media Rumble (TMR) in 2017. This annual media forum brings together the world’s leading news professionals, policymakers, and investors to discuss some of the challenges within the news ecosystem and hold media accountable to the public. Today, it is South Asia’s largest news media forum. Next, he said he wants to tackle issues of diversity and inclusivity in media: “I want to use my experience and work on making quality journalism reach the masses in their languages, and not a select few.”