“Snapchat is proud to support the AdNews Emerging Leaders Awards as Presenting Partner, recognising the top leaders in media, marketing and advertising who are driving authentic connections and promoting innovation across the newest generations of talent.”

Ryan Ferguson, Managing Director of Snapchat Australia and New Zealand

Grand Prix Winner

Summer Treseder
Wavemaker strategy director

Summer Treseder is one of the fastest-rising strategists in Australian media. Fast tracked through several promotions to become the youngest member of Initiative's strategy team, she planned media annually for the world's biggest brand Amazon. Since joining Wavemaker this year, Summer has already been promoted to strategy director and commenced mentoring junior strategists at WPP within two months of starting. She's proven that leadership extends beyond titles through her role as an NGEN Bootcamp mentor and judge for two consecutive years, as well as creating and presenting Young Lions and NGEN workshops. Summer has taken out multiple awards including APAC Future is Female, Campaign Asia's 'Young Achiever of the Year', Young Spikes and become the first person to win Young Lions twice. Guided by her mum's legendary mantra, “Be a peli-can, not a peli-cant", Summer has delivered standout client results including helping Initiative win IAG ($50M billings), leading the strategy and planning for Goodman Fielder's first sustainability campaign and helping to drive the launch of the industry-leading 'Forgotten Upfronts'.

In awarding her the Emerging Leaders Grand Prix, the judges said: "Summer is not only a force within her workplace but outside her day-to-day responsibilities. She has the passion, performance and positivity to lead a new generation of industry peli-cans."

Justin Arlt
Wavemaker national head of investment

Justin’s career spans three countries, five leadership roles and hundreds of millions in client billings. He started at an independent agency in Melbourne before moving to Mediabrands’ APAC headquarters in Singapore. Justin returned to Australia in 2020 to take on a role at Initiative, where he was named Employee of the Year and promoted within two years. He also led pro bono media efforts for national charity partners which have been described as “deep, highly constructive and heartfelt”. He now leads Wavemaker’s national investment function, manages portfolios for Amazon, L’Oréal, Mondelez and Mitsubishi, and directs a bespoke L&D program designed to ensure the agency remains future-ready.

Sean Best
Mediabrands transformation manager

Sean’s work on Mediabrands Transformation Project’s Robotic Process Automation (RPA) has saved the business more than 85,000 hours since January 2022. He also standardised the media plan template used by all holding group agencies to enable RPA adoption. Beyond technical contributions, Sean has mentored junior team members - including several who were on the cusp of resigning - offering guidance that helped them regain clarity and motivation. He also raised more than $10,000 for Batyr by participating in Pitch2Punchline, an experience that gave him the courage to speak openly to the agency about mental health and the passing of his sister.

Simon Conyard
Wavemaker national head of performance

Simon has had a meteoric rise over his nine years at Wavemaker. He won Yahoo's Digital Star competition in 2016 and Wavemaker of the Year in 2019. As performance media lead, Simon has enhanced the agency’s new business strategy, playing a key role in securing major accounts including Amazon, L'Oréal, Henkel - collectively representing more than $200m in billings. He led the digital product and performance response for the WPP OpenDoor model and hired a team of 19 to work in Sydney and offshore in India. Simon is passionate about helping others. He has raised funds for mental health through Pitch2Punch, mentored emerging talent as part of the NGEN program and revamped the programmatic certification for the MFA.

Luisa Dalli
Havas Media strategy director

Luisa has been a key part of Havas Media for almost eight years, leading work across accounts such as Jacobs Douwe Egberts, Accolade Fine Wines, TK Maxx and Destination NSW. She won silver at the Festival of Media APAC Awards in 2024 and has been shortlisted for a number of accolades, including AdNews Emerging Leader. Her standout moment was defending the Perfetti Van Melle account at a time when wins felt distant. Luisa was also one of the powerhouses behind Aussie Futures, a landmark study which revealed seismic shifts in national values, and a founding member of the MFA DE&I Council.

Gemma Dawkins
PHD head of digital

Gemma has made it her mission to make the tech industry a more equitable environment for women to thrive. As head of digital at PHD, she manages a team of 32 and supports the development of 300 staff nationwide. Gemma was named APAC Young Achiever in 2018 and selected for The Marketing Academy scholarship program this year. As a representative on the MFA Interactive Committee, she co-authored the ‘Australian Digital Advertising Practices’ and the training modules for the ‘Digital Foundations Certification’. Gemma also regularly hosts panels, debates and podcasts on media impact, ethics in data and AI.

“Brilliant ideas make the world of difference in every business and every industry. In an age of AI, remember the power of your creativity.”

Russel Howcroft

Abigail Dawson
Enero Group communications director

Abigail rose from journalist to global communications lead in under a decade. At 21, she joined Mumbrella and was promoted four times in just over three years. She then moved agency-side, helping Special Group launch its US office and leading Uber Eats’ first Super Bowl campaign. At 26, Abigail became one of the youngest-ever communications leads at an ASX-listed company, overseeing global comms across five businesses and 16 cities for Enero Group. Abigail is founding board director of the Please Stay Foundation and national head of PR for The Aunties. In her spare time, she hosts a podcast aimed at raising the profile of women in sports.

Drew Groves
Starcom client service director

Throughout his career, Drew has transformed pressure into potential and uncertainty into opportunity, driving performance and unlocking personal growth in others. At Havas Media, he led a global pitch that beat 100+ agencies to win Tourism Fiji. Now at Starcom, he leads the TPG Telecom account. Drew sees talent attraction and retention as a long-term industry challenge and prioritises mentoring junior staff and supporting MFA initiatives to inspire next-gen talent. He also volunteered as Starcom’s representative on Publicis Groupe’s EmbRACE committee, launched the ‘Illuminate Panel’ series to spotlight diverse voices and led Ronald McDonald House volunteer dinners with agency partners.

Aliya Hasan
Nature head of strategy

Aliya cut her teeth at Y&R, after topping ‘Strategic planning in marketing’ at RMIT University. At dentsu, she won seven new accounts, developed the strategy for Vodka Cruiser’s first interactive Facebook Live ‘TV show’ and earned two promotions in three years. At Naked Communications, Aliya was the lead on the award-winning ‘Steal Banksy’ campaign, which won a Cannes Lion gold, two bronze Effies and an ADMA Grand Prix. Now at Nature, she heads the fast-growing brand strategy function and is the brains behind ‘Truths and Tensions’, an annual macro analysis of behavioural and cultural dynamics, with her work published in national mastheads.

Stephanie Jones
WPP Media client development director

Stephanie has progressed through seven roles to client development director at WPP’s Nexus. She has been recognised as Maxus Rising Star, Mindshare Representative of the Year and a finalist at the Women Leading Tech Awards. Stephanie orchestrated the acquisition of an FMCG brand’s YouTube business, resulting in a 691% YoY revenue increase. She also played an integral role in Volvo Australia’s digital sustainability initiative, which achieved a 41% reduction in carbon emissions and won the Media for Good category at the MFA Awards. Stephanie supports women across the industry by speaking at forums like TWIPN and NGEN events, sharing her experience and encouraging greater representation in digital media. She also mentors three junior team members.

Pawena Kaniah
iProspect strategist

Pawena has earned three promotions in three years, becoming the de facto strategy lead for top tier clients such as Air New Zealand, Seven West Media, Ampol, MYOB and Polestar. She won silver at the 2024 iProspect Global Awards and was named Campaign Asia’s Women Leading Change this year. In her first year as manager, she led an agency-wide PDP overhaul, drove iProspect to 100% SBS DE&I training completion, launched a pioneering Share of Search metric, boosted awards entries by 240% through process redesign. As the youngest migrant on the MFA DE&I Council, Pawena is passionate about helping juniors find their voices.

Cameron Law
Dentsu Queensland head of strategy

Cameron leads a 70-member team and influences more than $110 million in billings as head of strategy. He also leads strategic counsel for brands such as Tourism & Events Queensland, The Lottery Corporation, BEDA, McCormick, Aveo, Charles Sturt University and Good Drinks Australia. Some of Cameron’s key achievements include delivering the highest Media-i NPS scores nationally for openness to ideas, leading the Flight Centre Travel Group account for four years and winning a bronze Effie. He is also heavily invested in giving back to the community. Cameron is an MFA Awards judge and active mentor for the next generation through NGEN workshops and internal Young Lions competitions. He is also pioneering new AI and research tool tests nationally, embarking on his own ‘self-guided CMO mentoring’ and undertaking the new System1 APE Course.

Camila Lecaros
iProspect strategy director

Camila made the leap to agency life last year after a successful career at Spotify, Seven West Media and Mamamia. Since joining iProspect, she has led the development of over 20 insight-led strategies and media models for global brands such as Ferrero. Just three months in, she was brought into a high-stakes pitch for eBay, where she played a key role in a chemistry session that helped secure the agency’s second-highest billing client. Camila has since brought that same energy and strategic focus to winning new business including Geely, EA Games and IPA. Her proudest contribution to iProspect has been leading the ‘We All Lead’ values pillar.

Emma Macey
Atomic 212º group account director

Emma leads a team of 15, overseeing integrated media strategy, investment and performance for clients including Bupa and Our Watch. Under her leadership, these accounts have delivered measurable improvements in ROI, recognised by a Festival of Media Awards shortlist and two nominations at the Cairns Crocodiles. Emma has maintained 100% client retention, contributed to pitch wins and secured long-term retained partnerships. Emma led Bupa’s 2024 media campaign, earning multiple award shortlists and a bronze Cairns Crocodile win. Outside of work, she supports families navigating life with invisible disabilities by offering practical guidance and emotional support.

Ervin Poernama
Sparro by Brainlabs senior paid search lead

Ervin thought he would be a finance guy until a marketing internship changed everything. He joined Sparro as a junior marketer and worked his way up to senior paid search lead. During this time, Ervin played a key role in driving over $100 million in revenue growth for Temple & Webster and leading the cross-functional integration of Brainlabs’ global Cortex tools into Sparro post-acquisition. His contributions to award-winning agency initiatives earned him a Google Agency Excellence award for Measurement Solutions and a shortlisting for Microsoft Ads’ APAC Performance Partner of the Year.

Georgia Pritchard
Howatson+Company planning director

Georgia earned the trust of CMOs long before most hit their stride. She completed her first AdCouncil strategy course and was named an APG Planning Idol finalist before graduating university. At 21, Georgia cut her teeth at The Monkeys, working on the lamb ads and NRMA’s ‘Help’ platform. By 26, she had authored her first Effie finalist for Vanish and been promoted to strategy director. Since then, she has led Qantas’ Olympics campaign that moved the PM to tears, hijacked the Ashes for UNICEF and helped save pets from deadly ticks for Petbarn. Georgia has also accrued a 100% pitch win rate across Airtasker, Microsoft, Qantas Frequent Flyer, UNSW and Myer. And now at 29, she has won a Cannes Lion in Creative Commerce and broken System 1’s high-performing records.

“Emerging Leaders is more than just an awards program — it’s our commitment to recognising the rising stars who are shaping the future of our industry. The AdNews team is incredibly passionate about spotlighting transformative talent and giving them the platform they deserve. We believe in celebrating potential, championing new perspectives and fueling the momentum of tomorrow’s C-Suite.”

Aidan Ryan
Dentsu Queensland head of investment

Aidan has become one of Queensland’s most respected media investment leaders, with 17 years at dentsu under his belt. He leads all media owner partnerships and sets the standard for agency behaviour. Aidan has led the relationship with foundational client The Lottery Corporation for more than eight years and played a key role in winning the Tourism & Events Queensland tender. He also generated $6 million in CSA media value for Australia Zoo’s Wildlife Warriors, transacted $300,000 in media charity vouchers and regularly donated blood. Outside dentsu, Aidan is co-chair of the MFA’s Outdoor Futures Council, a mentor within the MFA and regular panelist for NGEN, Boomtown and OMA events.

James Turner
Howatson+Company head of strategy and planning

Big-picture strategy and specialised execution are at the heart of everything James does. He has received a number of accolades for his work, including M&C Saatchi’s ‘Maurice’ award, and the MFA’s Best Use of Real-Time Marketing award. He has also been named Wavemaker of the Year. In his current role at Howatson+Company, James leads a team of 24 across Sydney and Melbourne. He has always prioritised work that uplifts both the industry and the communities it serves. His most meaningful contribution has been through his work supporting UNICEF Australia. Over the past three months, the agency’s efforts unlocked global Tier-1 funding and led to the two most successful donation revenue months in the charity’s history.

Amy Weatherlake
Equality Media + Marketing business director

Amy led the expansion of the media team to 12 from six members over the past year. She also secured 13 significant new client projects across diverse sectors. Amy also championed Equality’s transition to a four-day workweek, managing the change to support both work-life balance and sustained high performance. This forward-thinking leadership led to multiple internal promotions and maintained 100% staff retention. Amy helped raise awareness around housing insecurity by securing more than $100,000 in pro bono media support for the Women’s Property Initiative. She also created the Equality Elevate Internship Program to help provide fair opportunities to talented students who would otherwise miss out.

Xue Ying Chen
WPP Media client growth director

Xue migrated to Australia from China after primary school and began her media career as a sales coordinator at Network Ten in 2011. Throughout her career, she has received several accolades, including Sales Rep of the Quarter at OMD, Salesperson of the Month at UM and multiple Melbourne and National ‘Passionate’ awards. At GroupM in 2018, Xue drove a 303% YoY growth in agency programmatic billings and launched a seven-figure digital investment solution for a client. She then single-handedly grew the agency’s new Advanced TV business in Melbourne by 1,233%. Following parental leave, as client growth director for Nexus's Omnichannel capability, she won the APAC Celebrating Our People Award in 2024, solidifying her reputation as a trailblazer.