In July last year, Liana Dubois made history when she became Nine’s first-ever group CMO. Here she speaks to B&T candidly about balancing her career and being a mother, as well as her biggest career lesson to date.
Despite ending up with one of the most powerful media roles in the country after starting out in marketing and promotions, Dubois said she’s not someone who set out with a clear career plan.
“People say where do you see yourself in five or 10 years’ time? I’m one of those people that’s not particularly very good at answering that question,” she says.
One thing she has always done, however, is find something that is “challenging and creatively fulfilling.”
“Having a career where you can have new experiences, and you can continue to feel challenged each day, and you can grow and evolve and never stop learning has always been really important to me”.
When asked what her biggest career lesson to date is, Dubois is clear: “Never assume anything,” she says.
“That’s probably just a good life lesson.”
In the corporate world, she says stakeholder engagement is also “very important” as well as listening.
“We were given two ears and one mouth for a reason,” she says. It’s necessary to “genuinely try to hear and understand where people are at in their understanding”. This way you can empathise and take everyone on the journey” she says. Although it’s “not always easy to do”.
When it comes to being a mother and being successful in her career, Dubois is refreshingly candid.
“Life is like the knobs on a stereo. And there are some days you have to turn the bass down or the treble up”.
“And the reality is there are days that I’m a better mother than I probably am a CMO. And there are other days that I’m a better CMO than I probably am a mother”.
“I’ve had to find the comfort in that idea so I don’t turn myself inside out, trying to be all things to all people all the time.”
As for her plans for the future of Nine?
“That Nine’s house of brands continue to mean as much to the Australian population in the next 100 years as we have for the past 100 years”.
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