Akib Hasan describes himself as a “chameleon”, and who could argue with him? With a degree in commerce, finance and economics, this young gun just as likely could’ve ended up being Australia’s Gordan Gecko as he did working in adland. 

But with a stroke of luck, our industry is all the better for welcoming Hasan, who currently works as a senior platform solutions partner for Yahoo, following successful stints with Admatic, Bench and Verizon Media.

In fact, Hasan is such a perfect fit for adland that he scored the People’s Choice Prize at the 2021 30 Under 30 Awards, owing to his strategic planning helping clients to adapt and adopt DSP, as well as his lofty thinking and all-round gosh darn likable personality. I mean, c’mon, he even founded his own community soccer competition! 

With the gates now open for the next 30 Under 30 Awards presented by Vevo, returning in March 2022, we caught up with this community-minded chameleon for some refreshing advice including the benefits of discomfort, and why the industry is in desperate need of diversity. 

What initially attracted you to join the marketing/communications industry? 

It’s not something I planned. I studied economics and finance and always wanted to be an economist and work for the central bank in policymaking. I also had an interest in stockmarket trading and anything to do with that. I never wanted a boring job, I wanted something super challenging that would keep me on my toes.

When I graduated I was just looking for any role and this specific opportunity came up as a programmatic trader. They wanted someone who was good with numbers and loved to analyse data and had a very analytical mind. When I got into the industry, I fell in love with it.

What’s some advice you’d give to young up-and-comers? 

Be curious. Curiosity leads to having more knowledge and opportunities. It’s also very important to be uncomfortable in order to learn. I love putting myself in uncomfortable situations. I don’t want to be the same person I was last year. I want to keep growing and developing and have more knowledge. 

[Never forget] knowledge is power. The more you know the more impact you would have for any business and any team. And always try to stay humble and never think that [you] know it all. You do not know it all, there’s so much to learn.

Besides winning the 30 Under 30 People’s Choice Award, what have you enjoyed most about your time in the industry so far? 

It never feels like work. There are always new things to learn because it’s technology and we’re having a technological boom. There are new challenges and new systems to learn; it’s very dynamic. That’s what keeps me going.

As a young person, do you ever feel as though you can be underestimated at work? 

I have worked with people who are younger than me, and people who are older than me with a lot more experience, but I have never felt underestimated in any situation. What I’ve seen from a lot of leaders and people with more experience is their respect for the knowledge you have and the impact you can create. 

It’s not about how experienced you are, it’s not about how many years you’ve worked within the industry or if you’ve worked for big names. It’s about how much you know and how much impact you can create. 

What words of wisdom do you have for those currently thinking of entering 30 Under 30?

If you want to be successful, there’s no shortcut. You need to be hungry for success. You need to be hungry for knowledge. You want to learn more and you want to create more impact. 

The other thing I mentioned in my application was diversity. I have friends in all sorts of industries and I believe [our industry] lacks that proper diversity. If you walk into a room you see most people from a similar background with a similar mindset, there’s not really a lot of challenges that are coming their way. 

You need to have a lot of people from different backgrounds and different experiences working for the same mission. That’s when you get a dynamic solution to a problem, rather than having five people saying the same thing. The industry needs to welcome more people from different sorts of backgrounds, even in leadership positions. The outcome would be better for everyone.

I encourage everyone to take part in this competition. I’ve referred a few colleagues of mine as well because I never had an idea how much I would get out of it. It’s not about winning, it’s about being able to know yourself and know what you’ve achieved over the years. 

It’s [also] an audit of yourself: “What have I done? What are the things I’m proud of?” We live in such a fast-paced world, and we don’t really look back and reflect. 

Enter now!

Get started on your entry HERE, as the deadline for submissions (Friday 4 February 2022) will be here before you know it. You can download the criteria for each category HERE.

However, you MUST be under the age of 30 on the day of the event (Thursday 31 March) to be in the running. So, be sure to include your ID and profile photo with your entry.

Oh, and please save your entry in a Word doc in case so many of you jump on to the awards portal that it crashes. It’s better to be safe than sorry!

The 30 Under 30 Awards, presented by Vevo, are widely regarded as the leading showcase for the brightest young talent working across marketing communications.

Three outstanding individuals will be recognised for their achievements in each of the 10 categories, as well as a Grand Prix award for the most influential individual overall.

You can find all the details on the awards right here and, to avoid disappointment, we highly recommend gathering your crew and securing your spots at the 30 Under 30 Awards night by purchasing early bird tickets (your bank account will thank you later).