Rising Stars: Spotlight on this year’s shortlisted nominees

With such a high calibre of candidates nominated for our Rising Star Award this year, the judges have a tough job on their hands. The award recognises those talented individuals who are making a significant impact to the creativity and effectiveness of content-led advertising strategies early on in their careers.

A big congratulations to our five shortlisted nominees! Here’s why their companies thought they deserved to be nominated. The winner will be announced at the World Media Awards ceremony on Thursday 7^th September.

Rosie has been an integral part of the UM International team for about a year since she joined after university as an Account Executive. Impressing us right from the interview process, Rosie keeps shining with her brightness, curiosity and dedication to the work, her clients, and her team. Her positive attitude and strong work ethic have led her to become a rising star within her team as well as in the agency. UM are lucky to have her.

While Rosie’s contributions span multiple accounts, she recently played a vital role in launching a multi-market, multi-channel campaign for one of our biggest clients, Accenture. The launch was no easy feat as it came at a time where team capabilities were reduced, but Rosie brilliantly managed the process and ensured a smooth and timely launch.

Ever wished you could hire someone straight out of university who can take whatever you throw at them head on? We discovered that person in Tilman. He embraces new challenges and consistently leverages his knowledge to add value and interest to his role. From Account Management to Data Analyst and ultimately to Strategist, his positive attitude, combined with his natural intelligence, curiosity and humility, allows him to tackle any task and completely go beyond expectations.

Tilman has taken Crossmedia’s “Boutique at Scale” approach to a whole new level, ensuring that all work produced is tailored to clients and their objectives, resulting in the best possible outcomes while also challenging them to think differently. His thorough work for S&P Global includes analysing brand measurement studies and continuously adapting and refining details to help marketers demonstrate the value of paid advertising.

Teddy is at the forefront of leading the strategic development of Condé Nast’s go-to-market approach for Programmatic. She has achieved unprecedented success by increasing the company’s digital revenue, making a significant contribution to the EMEA earnings.

Well respected and with numerous award-winning campaigns under her belt, Teddy has a reputation for driving results and business growth. Her deep knowledge allows her to incorporate bespoke strategic media solutions that deliver impressive results for global clients. Moreover, she serves as an internal and external strategic consultant, educating clients and agencies on Programmatic advertising.

An industry speaker and a leading champion of diversity and inclusion, Teddy is a changemaker in the field. She also serves as a mentor in the OK! Mentorship program. Going above and beyond for the community, Teddy has been awarded a “Citizenship Award” and “Leadership Award” for initiating projects and events, fundraising thousands to support local and national charities.

Sakshi joined the international OMD team as Senior Manager in 2021, after moving from India to London during the Pandemic. Since then, she has elevated agency and client profiles by translating her passion points around people, culture, Data, and Tech into tangible business outcomes. Sakshi has been crucial in driving digital transformation for OMD’s global clients.

Beyond Data and Tech, she is passionate about people and culture and has developed agency-wide training promoting DEI solutions and comprehensive onboarding programs for graduates entering the media world. She has also mentored four female graduates with their career planning.

Her impact speaks for itself: Within a year, Sakshi was promoted to Digital Director, was named the agency’s MVP (Most Valuable Player), and also received an award for ‘Best Client Impact’ after opening new revenue workstreams that are producing excellent results.

Since joining Wavemaker at the end of 2020, Obinna has taken on leadership of the employee resource group, Wavemaker Roots. He leads a team of 12 people who create opportunities for growth for Wavemaker employees by organising public speaking workshops. The sessions aim to support women and people of colour to boost their confidence when presenting publicly and teaches them how to create their personal brand.

As a result, Obinna has fostered a community of people interested in cultural inclusion in advertising. With this, he has contributed to client pitches and brainstorms, created several community events – from fundraisers to public speaking workshops – and established opportunities for employee growth through the creation of mentorship programs. These events have people as senior as the Global CEO dedicating time to mentoring mid to junior level employees.