EDITOR'S
LETTER.
It’s often said that B&T’s 30 Under 30 Awards, presented by our brilliant long-standing partner Vevo, are a shorthand to seeing who will be the future leaders of the advertising, marketing and media industries. That’s still very much the case this year.
Reviewing this year’s winners, I feel confident in saying that the industry’s future seems to be in as good a set of hands as it’s ever been.
Casting an eye over the Marketing category, for instance, it’s immediately apparent that the next Joanna Boundy, Jenni Dill and Susan Coghill are just, and only just, bubbling under the surface. In the Agency and Media Sales categories, it’s clear to see that the next Lou Barrett and Melissa Hey are primed for takeoff. In the Creative and Strategy categories, it seems to me that we’re already looking at the next Lisa Fedyszyn and Milla McPhee.
But there is still a note of caution. This year, four-fifths of our winners are women. The latest Workplace Gender Equality Agency data showed that women make up nearly three-fifths of the advertising industry. But in the upper quartile, that situation is flipped and three-fifths of the top bosses are men. The advertising, marketing and media industries still have a way to go before they truly reflect the society we live in.
As you’ll see below from their brilliant entry videos, this year’s cast of winners are determined to make the industry a better and more inclusive place for all. We wouldn’t bet against them making it happen.
On behalf of all the B&T team, I’d like to extend my heartiest congratulations to all the finalists and winners and big thank you to all of our partners and judges.
Tom Fogden
Editor
LETTER.
B&T's 30 Under 30 Winners, Presented by Vevo
AGENCY SALES /
ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT
Arielle Selva
Storytellers Australia
Arielle Selva moved to Australia from the Philippines in 2023 with no local experience or connections. In two short years, she’s become a burgeoning leader in the industry and an extant leader within Storytellers Australia.
She’s overcome hurdles in her journey, too, including the agency losing a host of its clients. But rather than feeling stuck, Selva returned to the basics of good account management—managing her small but growing network and building trust among clients.
Her results now speak for themselves, delivering exceptional numbers at a time when the market has been going backwards and clients are feeling extra pressure. Not content with helping herself (and the agency) Selva also hosted Junior Storytellers, a school holiday program teaching kids about advertising.
It’s little wonder that Selva’s MD at Storytellers described her as a “true asset” to the agency and a “rising star” within adland and one of her clients said she has “consistently delivered outstanding, innovative work”.
It’s clear that Selva is more than worthy of B&T’s 30 Under 30 silverware.
AGENCY SALES /
ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT
Michaela Tan
GroupM Goat
There are few more ringing endorsements when one of the industry’s leading social media partnerships experts, Wavemaker’s Shivani Maharaj, describes you as “a trailblazer in influencer and social media marketing”.
Michaela Tan is a phenomenon in this space. Her creative thinking and strategic smarts are delivering incredible results for clients of GroupM’s influencer marketing arm Goat.
Tan has worked at Goat for the past four years, following stints at BCW, WeAreTenzing and other other agencies.
At GroupM, Tan launched Goat in the New Zealand market, helping the business double its annual revenue and win major clients such as L’Oreal. She has also brought on 10 new hires in the past year form diverse backgrounds.
Tan is a regular panellist at industry events and is driven by connecting people and technology. Last year, she launched a new influencer marketing tool.
“In all my career I’ve never seen the effort, passion and commitment matched by what I have witnessed from Michaela,” said Matt Stephens, general manager of client growth at Nexus Solutions & Goat. “Her dedication to craft excellence, often requires delicate guidance and leadership with clients who are trialling influencer marketing for the first time.”
AGENCY SALES /
ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT
Phoebe Peralta
Special Group
When Phoebe Peralta was a kid, she helped her parents run their small business and became instantly hooked by the marketing side of things.
Peralta went on to study marketing at uni and landed an internship with Effie Global in New York. In her first two-and-a-half years in the industry, she went from account executive to manager to director at Special, holding the accounts for some of Australia’s biggest brands, from Bonds to Chobani to ANZ.
She is the national chair for Youngbloods, constantly championing her peers in the industry. She lives what she preaches: empathy, an eagerness to learn and creating good work that excites people.
Described as “leading with empathy and conviction” and someone who “strives to create an industry that promotes bravery of ideas, and supports young talent,” we have no doubt that Peralta is already a leader in our industry.
As Special’s CEO Lindsey Evans said, “The industry would do well to bottle the magic that is Phoebe Peralta”.
CREATIVE
Charlie Dejean
VML
Charlie Dejean is one of the fastest-rising creatives in all of Australia. Here are the main highlights of his already impressive career.
He’s produced an enviable slew of campaigns that have not only driven results for VML’s clients but have also done good in the world.
For instance, his work on ‘Legacy Lager’ for veterans charity Legacy modernised the donation system, solving the client’s biggest problem at a stroke—or indeed a tap. He developed an AI for Monash University to ask Aussies if their younger selves would be proud of them.
As Dejean said in his entry: “He’d hate me saying it, but he’s been on an absolute tear”.
But there’s more, he’s helped young AWARD School-ers reach the top 10 in the country and his ideas made it to the very top table in a global presentation for one of the most lucrative accounts in all of adland.
As Paul Nagy, VML’s APAC CCO said, “I’m personally thinking he’s a robot of some kind, but if he is human, then I’d 100 per cent say he’s the most impressive talent under 30 I’ve seen in a very long time. Would order more if I could.”
CREATIVE
Cindy Diep
Ogilvy
Cindy Diep began Ogilvy agency life six years ago as a suit, working on accounts including KFC and ING.
It was during this period that she became “obsessed with creativity” and entered the Cannes Young Lions competition in 2022, where she was runner-up in the Digital category.
In fact, she has been a finalist the past two years and won B&T’s Women in Media Rising Star Award in 2024.
Her work is outstanding. She was part of the team that created Dove’s ’10 vs 10′ campaign that won a Cannes Lion in Print and Publishing.
Diep co-founded SHECD, an internal initiative dedicated to supporting and retaining female creative talent, and is a staunch advocate of promoting diversity in the industry.
“What sets Cindy apart is her ability to make, break, and shape culture. She doesn’t just reflect the zeitgeist—she anticipates it, taps into it, and turns it into powerful, unexpected ideas,” Ogilvy’s Sydney ECD Bridget Jung said.
“A rare blend of strategic sharpness, cultural instinct, and creative brilliance, Cindy isn’t just a rising star—she’s shaping the industry itself.”
CREATIVE
Lachlan Rotherham
Droga5
Lachlan Rotherham joined the “dark side” of advertising after starting out in commercial photography and content creation.
Rotherham’s work ethic, confidence and creativity grabbed the attention of Adrian Shapiro, co-founder of Scoundrel, when they worked on a film for Hyundai in 2023. Shapiro said of Rotherham that his confidence was “a rare thing to see, especially at his age”.
Since then, Rotherham worked on what is considered one of Australia’s most iconic ads, Kia’s Tasman Ute in 2024, which featured a star-studded cast and raked in 3.5 million organic views.
Rotherham believes in the power of storytelling and narrative to engage people in issues they’d rather turn away from.
Examples of this include the ‘There’s No Good Reason’ campaign created by Innocean for White Ribbon, which sought to engage men to end the prevalence of violence against women in Australia.
He’s been volunteering for the Youngbloods for the last three years and is soon launching an initiative to encourage diversity in the industry. Plus, his entry video is an absolute hoot.
He even won a Yellow D&AD Pencil. Is there anything he can’t do?
ENTREPRENEUR
Crystal Davis
Foreign Friends Wine
Crystal Davis is a natural-born risk-tasker and entrepreneur. In 2023, she founded Foreign Friends Wine with her sister and friend Juliette. Not long after, the company won a BADC Award for Best of Show for its packaging and design.
She joined Publicis as an intern and has since gone on to climb the ranks, working as a senior account manager for the agency’s biggest client, Subway. After founding her wine company, she stepped sideways and now works as a copywriter.
In 2023, Davis was accepted into AWARD School and placed second in Queensland.
Davis joined Publicis’s next generation board as its youngest member. Davis is a strong advocate for bringing more women into the viticulture industry, stopping at nothing to make sure representation is equal.
Her peers can’t get enough of her wide-ranging abilities. One peer said Davis is “as fiercely talented as she is creatively speculative”. Another added that she is “the client every designer dreams of—visionary and unapologetically bold”.
Her curiosity and fearlessness make her a true trailblazer—proving age is no limit to greatness.
ENTREPRENEUR
Mia Vicary
Media In Action
Mia Vicary started her journey in the industry as a journalist, reporting on stories from Vanuatu to Jakarta before switching to PR.
She founded Media in Action in 2019, fusing traditional public relations practices with modern marketing methods attracting a slew of lifestyle and beauty clients in the process.
Vicary’s passion is to stay ahead of the curve. Whether it be riding the wave of emerging trends to exploring how AI can complement work whilst keeps human connection at the core.
Vicary supports young and female entrepreneurs, leading by example to shatter the glass ceiling. She launched a Shark Tank-style initiative to help women overcome barriers in business. It was a perfect manifestation of Vicary’s belief that success comes from elevating the people around her.
Vicary has been described as “relentless” in her pursuit of excellence and we can’t wait to see what she does next.
ENTREPRENEUR
Shubham Kandel
What Works Global
Shubham Kandel is a natural-born entrepreneur. After studying at the University of Canberra, he started his first creative agency, Mude and worked with a range of local and international clients, from Amazon to Panasonic to Amnesty International.
Like any true entrepreneur, Kandel’s success went through trial and error, and he ended up selling his agency before orchestrating a merger between agencies into a new unity called What Works Global, of which he became the managing director.
Kandel launched a Web3 start-up and grew it quickly, amassing a strong client list.
Kandel is passionate about emerging tech and ensuring his company is at the forefront of disruptions set to take the industry by storm.
Kandel is described as having “strong leadership qualities, building and managing teams with a clear vision”.
His unwavering curiosity and commitment to forward-thinking innovation make him not just an entrepreneur, but a future leader in our industry.
MARKETING
Angelina Das
News Corp Australia
Not content with being a rapidly growing force within News Corp’s marketing team, Angelina Das has also founded Peried, an organisation designed to equip young people, parents and teachers with comprehensive and inclusive menstrual health education.
In her day job as News’ marketing lead for commercial data and ad products, Das rebranded News’ audience intelligence platform Intent Connect, led its annual D_Coded event and launched more than 10 products and capabilities. She was also the MFA’s NGEN Award winner.
With Peried, she’s held workshops and school talks and even received funding from Blackbird Ventures. Blackbird knows a winner when it sees one, too, having been Canva’s initial backer.
It’s little wonder that she’s not only considered a rising star within News, but she’s actively sought out by many in the company for a “remarkable blend of marketing acumen, strategic vision and leadership”.
We just wonder how she fits it all in.
MARKETING
Luke Elzerman
McDonald's
You know Luke Elzerman’s work better than you might think. He’s led the test-and-learn portfolio across the business’ entire customer journey and now leads its in-restaurant experience—working hand-in-glove with McDonald’s agencies and the other areas of its business. That means he looks after the in-store kiosks, screens, apps and more.
But while cooking may be an art Elzerman has reduced his marketing recipe to a science.
In fact, he’s even delivered guest lectures on it to students at both Macquarie and Sydney University. He’s also delivered what he’s learnt from campaigns Down Under to the global McDonald’s team and helped raise donations to the Ronald McDonald House Charity.
In fact, his work on Macca’s ‘Original Mouthful’ landed a Cannes Lion and the B&T Award for Best Use of Tech and AI.
It’s not a surprise that Macca’s client partners described Elzerman as “rare”, an “amazing collaborator”, and an “inspirational leader”.
It’s safe to say that everyone who knows Elzerman is more than simply lovin’ it.
MARKETING
Monique Di Gregorio
Carlton & United Breweries
Monique Di Gregorio has one of the most enviable—or at least thirst-quenching jobs—in marketing. Channeling Charlie XCX in her entry, Di Gregorio has lifted the brand to new creative heights with its new ‘Bold Choice’ brand platform putting real and unsuspecting Aussies on the spot into its ads. The platform’s first campaign massively outperformed category and platform benchmarks, too.
That shouldn’t be surprising. Di Gregorio has already shown she was fizzing with potential as Asahi Superdry’s brand manager and marketing manager of Carlton Draught. In these roles, she grew the brand’s involvement with sports, leveraging Superdry’s Rugby World Cup partnership to deliver double-digit volume growth and a “significant” boost in brand equity. With Carlton Draught, she brought the AFLW into its annual PR-led campaign, generating huge results and putting the brand into the heart of sporting conversations. For all this work, she was selected as CUB’s marketer of the year in 2022.
In fact, she even got the chance to represent Australia at CUB parent company Asahi’s board of directors discussion in 2023 to argue the case for its brands being positive influences around wellness and resource scarcity. You might think that selling tasty booze isn’t hard but Di Gregorio is proving to be a burgeoning leader in the industry, demonstrating that CUB’s brands are important far beyond sating a hard-earned thirst on a Friday arvo.
MEDIA PLANNER / BUYER
Brittany Cozic
Hearts & Science
One phrase that best sums up the talent of Brittany Cozic is that she is ‘an absolute powerhouse’. That’s the assessment of her agency boss Jane Stanley, and it’s easy to see why.
Cozic has forged a successful career rising up the ranks of investment and planning at Omnicom Media Group agencies OMD, PHD and Hearts & Science for clients including VW, Hyundai, Nine and Opella.
She has graduated from OMG’s Ignite program and is a future leaders alumni.
But it’s her campaign to end gender-based violence that has made a huge impact on society.
Volunteering for What You Were Wearing, a charity that works againsty sexual violence, she grew their following by 400 per cent, has organised national rallies and raised over $10,000.
Her efforts have not gone unnoticed; Cozic was a runner up in UnLtd’s Hall of Good and she is a Seven News Young Achiever of the Year.
Cozic co-led a national violence against women rally in April 2024, which attracted the interest of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
This led to an emergency cabinet meeting and the government committing $1 billion in funding to the cause.
“Her leadership fostered collaboration, creativity, and adaptability, ensuring our campaigns thrived in an ever-changing media landscape, with no budget,” said What Were You Wearing CEO Sarah Williams.
MEDIA PLANNER / BUYER
Jazmaree Dawson
EssenceMediacom
Jazmaree Dawson has done more to shift the dial on culture and inclusion in the industry than most under-30s. In her first few years at EssenceMediacom, she joined the culture committee, helped raise millions as part of GoupM’s Pride for Dolly Dream and introduced GroupM’s gender affirmation policy.
Just last year, she picked up global awards, joined the culture committee and has been promoted to implementation and activation manager.
Her efforts to improve culture when Essence and MediaCom merged, including the roll out of several cultural initiatives, helped agency attrition rates drop from 44 per cent to just 15 per cent.
She is also involved in industry initiatives with the MFA’s NGEN.
Dawson’s involvement in the APAC Uber pitch helped EssenceMediacom retain Uber’s $240 million APAC media account, which is being hubbed from Sydney by her team.
During this pitch, her role was to ensure the process ran smoothly across APAC while maintaining her day-to-day role on the Uber account.
EssenceMediacom Sydney managing director Stephanie Douglas-Neal describes Dawson as “a trailblazer across our business and industry” who brings “passion, energy and contribution to our cultural and business initiatives”.
MEDIA PLANNER / BUYER
Rahma El Sayed
UM
When Rahma El Sayed finished university she was drawn to a career in journalism but, after realising it’s not as glamorous as depicted, turned to advertising and has been shining light ever since.
By the age of 26, El Sayed was promoted to planning director and a few years later elevated to strategy director.
She has produced award-winning work for some of the nation’s most loved brands, including Uncle Toby’s, KitKat, Coca-Cola and Menulog.
Notable work includes launching jingles for Menulog and working on campaigns for Seek and Uncle Toby’s Oats that picked up Effie Awards.
She was also part of the UM pitch team that helped it retain the Australian Government’s master media services contract.
Testament to El Sayed’s success is the number of individual accolades she has racked up, including IPG’s Rising Star, a CEO Award, TikTok’s accelerator program for emerging leaders and the shortlist for the Women in Media Rising Star.
It’s not just strategy and planning where El Sayed is passionate. Of Lebanese descent, she is a staunch advocate for diversity and inclusion in the advertising industry.
She has worked with the likes of Sunita Gloster AM and Catherine Rushton to diversify the way the industry approaches holiday planning; worked with the MFA to educate the industry about Ramadan and sits on Mediabrands’ sustainability committee.
Described as “honest, innovative, joyful and a change agent,” El Sayed is a future leader that is determined to make the industry a better and more inclusive place.
MEDIA SALES /
ACCOUNT MANAGER
Georgia Falloon
GumGum
Falloon started her media sales career for Multi Channel Network in Brisbane where she was awarded digital salesperson of the year in Queensland for Media i two years in a row.
This early success was a sign of things to come.
Falloon joined Playground XYZ (which was acquired by GumGum) to set up its Brisbane operations and was soon also responsible for Western Australia and South Australia, building millions of dollars in revenue from scratch.
In the past two years, revenue across Falloon’s regions has grown by 90 per cent and she now leads a portfolio with more than 400 clients.
Her remarkable success has seen her shortlisted for B&T’s Women in Media and Women Leading Tech Awards.
Clients working with Falloon note how she “always wants the best for our brand” and consistently demonstrates “unparalleled service and knowledge”.
Falloon is also active in the industry mentoring women in programmatic and is regularly involved in UnLtd. events.
GumGum head of global commercial operations Sorrel Kesby perhaps sums it up best when she said of Falloon: “Georgia’s a natural leader who motivates her colleagues and fosters a culture of collaboration and success with her results-driven approach consistently exceeding our expectations and sales targets.”
MEDIA SALES /
ACCOUNT MANAGER
Jannah Anderson
Junkee Media
Jannah Anderson has not only revolutionised Junkee Media, but also the youth media sales landscape in Australia.
Anderson has risen from brand partnerships lead to marketing and partnerships director, overseeing Junkee Media’s best revenue quarters since the business was acquired by RACAT Group.
Her achievements include securing 15 new brand partnerships, renewing a platform partnership with Google, and taking risks in turning off digital display advertising and replacing it with exclusive and innovative integrations.
She also sold Junkee’s first podcast and has helped the Junkee Media expand its reach, engagement and brand partnerships.
What’s even more remarkable is that she has done this in only her first year in media sales at Junkee having spent most of her career in events marketing.
“Working with Jannah as my right hand is an absolute joy in every way,” Junkee Media editor-in-chief Alice Griffin said.
“She challenges me to think differently, and always shows up with a fresh, excited growth mindset on what’s possible for Junkee Media.”
MEDIA SALES /
ACCOUNT MANAGER
Jessica Anderson
Mamamia
Jessica Anderson had risen through the ranks of several media companies, including Multi Channel Network, News Corp and Shopper before settling down at Mamamia, where her career has truly taken off.
She leads a crack team responsible for sales with agency partners that is tracking on 150 per cent growth in FY25.
The award-winning sales executive received Mamamia’s sales excellence award in 2023 but it was in 2024 when she achieved legendary status.
Anderson presented at Mamamia’s upfronts event, telling media buyers and marketers about the company’s audience insights platform and sharing Gen Z insights.
She presented across four states to more than 600 people and was widely praised by many in the industry for her presentation.
Anderson helps develop talent in the industry by mentoring women into sales roles at other media organisations and is a champion of cross-industry collaboration with rival media companies.
Last year, Anderson delivered Medibank’s mental health awareness campaign, which reached more than one million women.
“She has the perfect blend of commercial acumen, strategic thinking, networking capabilities, confidence and emotional intelligence that sets her apart from others of her experience level,” Mamamia CEO Nat Harvey said.
PR
Abigail Dawson
Enero/BMF
Abigail Dawson a serial over-achiever. After ditching Mumbrella, she became Special’s brand director in 2020, growing the agency’s global media coverage and exposure by vast amounts.
Then she swapped indie Special for ASX-listed Enero Group, becoming one of the youngest-ever heads of communications for a public company—leading a team of nine and global communications across 16 cities and sitting on Enero’s senior leadership team. While creative agency BMF gets the lion’s share of the headlines, Dawson has grown fellow Enero business Orchard’s brand significantly.
But that’s not all. Beyond her day job, Dawson also served as an UtLtd ambassador for good. She is also the communications boss for industry support organisation The Aunties and drove the PR for industry inclusion initiative Only One In The Room. At 25, she also became head of communications and joined the board of mental health charity Please Stay Foundation, securing premium national media coverage in a crowded space.
“At a young age, Abi has already achieved what many aspire to over a lifetime, yet she remains humble, focused, and committed to excellence,” said Enero’s global CEO Brent Scrimshaw. “We’re lucky to have her in our corner.”
Frankly, it’s a wonder how Dawson hasn’t already stacked her mantlepiece with multiple 30 Under 30 trophies, but there’s a first time for everything. Plus, she always picks up the phone when B&T’s hacks come sleuthing for a scoop—an experience we’d wish on no one
PR
Alexandra La Sala
Think HQ
In another world, Alexandra La Sala could be entering the Media Planner/Buyer category at B&T’s 30 Under 30 Awards having started her career within media agencies.
However, during COVID she swapped spots and dots for a career that she felt meant more.
In her work at Think HQ, she’s been leading PR activities for the purpose-first agencies clients, generating huge results for campaigns surrounding social justice, mental health and housing.
For instance, she’s run campaigns that challenge the stigma around medication use during pregnancy, shone a spotlight on Australia’s growing lack of social cohesion, encouraged conversations about male eating disorders and advocating for the needs of young women.
“A lot of people think PR is super cut-throat, competitive, shallow, and while that can be true, it doesn’t have to be,” said La Sala in her entry, adding that “recognition without impact is pointless.”
La Sala’s colleagues have described her as “smart, funny and quicksilver fast” and operating with “ruthless efficiency” but also with an “innate kindness”.
Those are the kind of skills that you don’t come across every day and make La Sala not only a great PR and future leader, but the kind of person we should all hope to be.
PR
Matthew Evans
Ogilvy PR
“PR is so much more than reach figures,” Matthew Evans said in his entry , “it’s about mindset changes.”
And we might not be awarding Evans if it weren’t for one mindset shift he had during his studies. Following a guest lecture from an Ogilvy boss, describing the transformative power that good PR can have in the right hands, he was hooked.
A post-lecture chat, internship, four years and five promotions later, Evans has nabbed himself a 30 Under 30 trophy in the PR category.
It’s well deserved, too. He’s led Ogilvy PR’s five-strong Xbox team for the last year and doubled the size of the Xbox Influencer workstream over the same period.
He boosted Ogilvy PR’s global consulting workstream for Atlassian by half and delivered the ‘Atlassifan’ campaign that drove a boost in job applications to the firm by nearly a third. He’s also a keen face around the office, mentoring even younger staff, sitting on Ogilvy’s culture committee and spearheading the launch of a new Ogilvy program to support charitable causes with its PR experts.
“Matt makes a lasting impact on his colleagues, clients and the work, and is a rising superstar in the industry,” said his boss. We expect it won’t be the last we hear from him.
PROJECT MANAGER
Bree Peiris
Mamamia
Bree Peiris graduated from UTS with a major in event management in mid-2020, just as COVID was turning the industry on its head.
But she took it in her stride, starting out as a virtual event manager for Informa and later joining Mamamia as an event producer.
As the company’s youngest staffer, she led the company’s first online summit. By 2023, she jumped into project management and helped launch the company’s exercise app, Move.
In 2024, Peiris produced Mamamia’s inaugural upfronts in four states with more than 700 attendees and three sold-out Mamamia Out Loud live shows.
With a passion for people, Peiris empowers others to grow and is driven in her work by building trust and connection. She knows the work is only as good as the connections built in creating it.
Peiris was a finalist in the Project Manager category at B&T’s 2024 Women in Media Awards and is described by her peers at Mamamia as “a whizz of all trades” and “the future of project management”.
Peiris’ people skills, her love for organisation and efficiency and ability to jump across different areas to produce seamless events, all while engaging with new technologies such as AI, make her an exceptional project manager and an invaluable asset to the Mamamia team.
PROJECT MANAGER
Diana Demetri
Val Morgan Digital
Diana Demetri started her journey in the industry as an intern at oOh!media, before landing a full-time role at Junkee Media and delving into digital publishing and project management.
Demetri realised that her obsession with organising everything from her wardrobe to her snack drawer could finally come to good use. Working her way up, she landed a senior project manager role at LADbible Group and she now leads the client solutions team at Val Morgan Digital.
In 2024, she implemented campaigns and seamless processes for clients and agencies including its project management tool, Green Light.
Demetri launched the BuzzFeed food channel with MasterFoods and was quickly promoted to group client solutions manager, making her one of the youngest in the industry to enter the role.
Described by her peers as precise, efficient and dedicated, Demetri captured the attention of the industry with her drive and innovative thinking. Her excellence in project management comes from her ability to bring different teams together, all while following her purpose of producing exceptional work.
One senior agency figure praised Demetri for her “confidence” as well as the “optimism” that she approaches her work with.
At the same, she’s “firm but fair” and can be relied upon in the moments that “require critical decision making”.
Those are the ingredients for an exceptional leader.
PROJECT MANAGER
Logan Ayers
OGILVY
Logan Ayers is a two-time B&T 30 Under 30 finalist, and third time’s definitely the charm!
Ayers began his career in 2019 at a small agency in Canberra. But wanting to make a bigger impact, he moved to Melbourne, where he worked for TBWA on campaigns for NAB and Seek. By 23, he was promoted to project director, leading a team of five.
After completing global leadership training in Amsterdam, he worked on projects for the UN and Who Gives a Crap. He later worked on campaigns for TBWA\Sustain in a partnership initiative with the UN, where sustainability became central to the creative process.
He’s since been moved into a global role with Ogilvy, leading campaigns for Dove and Helmann’s.
From Super Bowl to World Cup campaigns, the scale of work has seen Ayers become a trailblazing leader who values empathy, adaptability and collaboration.
Ayers is passionate about how purpose leads to creativity. He’s especially passionate about bringing Australia to the world stage, ensuring it leads as a creative innovator.
Ayers is not just a hard worker, he truly cares about the people around him and wants everyone involved in the joy of creating good work. He “inspires and motivates his team, fostering a collaborative and productive environment that drives success”.
His “unwavering commitment to excellence makes him an invaluable asset to any organisation”. Ayers is truly shaping the future of our industry.
STRATEGY
Georgia Angelini
Val Morgan Digital
Georgia Angelini is an exceptional strategist. In fact, her boss at Val Morgan said Angelini’s ability to interpret a client brief is “second-to-none” and that she possesses a “jaw-droppingly” strategic mind.
That’s some endorsement, but the results of Angelini’s work also show that she has what it takes to go right to the top. She started her career in adland in 2021 with Carat but switched to Val Morgan Digital to stretch her creative and strategic legs further. It’s a switch that has paid off, with Angelini increasing the revenue created in her role by more than two-thirds since 2022.
She’s led Val Morgan Digital’s strategy work on key social impact campaigns including the Federal Government’s anti-vaping push and the Cancer Council’s national Suncare initiative.
But Angelini is determined to keep pushing the envelope, noting that while 98 per cent of kids meet the threshold to be classified as creative geniuses, just two per cent of adults meet the same levels–that’s huge untapped potential for businesses and people. Her solution? Building inclusive workplaces that foster and promote diversity of thought. With ChatGPT lurking around the corner of every response to brief, it’s a strategy we wholeheartedly get behind.
“Too often strategists aren’t accessible or feel like a shining star you see for a response then never again. Georgia breaks this mould thanks to her unwavering passion for doing good work and adapting to the needs of the client,” said one client.
It’s clear there’s far more to come from Angelini.
STRATEGY
Georgia Pritchard
Howatson+Company
Georgia Pritchard is a natural-born leader.
In fact, her boss said that she is “trusted by CMOs before anyone her age should be”—some praise indeed.
Pritchard sees it as her mission to preserve true creativity within advertising and to winning people’s attention at a time when it’s harder than ever.
Pritchard cut her teeth working at Host Havas and The Monkeys before joining Howatson+Company. With Howatson, she was promoted to strategy director at just 26. She’s worked on campaigns such as the excellent ‘Australia’s Second Favourite Beer’ for Matilda Bay and Petbarn’s delightful ‘Puppies and Kittens Club’.
She’s also won two Effies before for her innovative marketing solutions and creative commerce.
Pritchard does her homework, too. She’s completed every Ad School Strategy Masterclass and ensured that she learns from the best of the biz in Australia, from Howatson’s Dom Hickey to The Monkeys’ Fabio Buresti.
Described by her peers as an “X factor thinker” and possessing a “business maturity beyond her years,” we have no doubt Pritchard is going to shake things up like never before.
STRATEGY
Kate O'Loughlin
Wavemaker
Few have made more immediate impacts at a new employer than Wavemaker strategy director Kate O’Loughlin, who was described by her new boss as “a force for the future”.
Although she only joined the GroupM agency weeks prior to entering B&T’s 30 Under 30 Awards, she has already made a significant impact on two of the agency’s clients: Audible and Colgate.
In fact, O’Louglin had been impressing Amazon, and its various businesses, well before the account moved from Initiative to Wavemaker.
“We value her passion to deliver strategies that put the brand at the forefront of pop culture and appreciate the infectious energy she brings,” said Siphaenette Nhean, head of global content marketing in the region for Prime Video.
Aside from Initiative, she has worked at PHD on accounts including Unlivever and Pepsi.
It’s safe to say, however, that O’Loughlin might be running out of space on the mantlepiece given her growing collection of industry awards, havning scooped an APAC Future is Female Award and an MFA NGEN Award.
O’Loughlin is also not scared of a spicy brief, demonstrating this on her entry video by trying different hot sauces while listing her many career achievements.
TECH
Annabel Zhou
Toastie, Google
Annabel Zhou lives and breathes her aim of making a difference through tech. After being diagnosed with a chronic health condition, Zhou used her personal struggle to co-found health tech startup Toastie. It creates AI tools, such as automated health tracking, to help other individuals living with chronic illnesses.
Toastie picked up first place at the UNSW Founders New Wave, won the Doone Roisin Business Innovation Award, the Medicine and Health Faculty Award and the OneRoof Startup Woman of The Year.
Zhou is passionate about bridging the gap between human needs and technology. She has taught engineering courses at UNSW and joined Google in 2022 as a software engineer before being promoted to site reliability engineer working to keep more than 3 billion devices up and running. She has also worked on accessibility tools for Chrome and Google Photos API.
Zhou coaches others for the Startmate Fellowship and serves as a role model for the next generation of future engineers. Key to her success has been her belief in a future where accessibility and inclusivity are no longer afterthoughts–they’re built into the way that everyone works.
She has been praised by her peers for her “can-do attitude” and as someone who “continuously seeks to improve”. Safe to say, she’s a force to be reckoned with.
TECH
Monique de Courcey
Lundbeck Australia
Monique de Courcey is part tech wizard and part marketing translator, passionate about turning marketing dreams into reality, whether it be through saving time or improving website functionality.
In her work at Sanofi, she co-developed a process improvement solution that saved a global pharma company 200,000 hours annually. In 2023, de Courcey won the PRIME Awards for marketing innovation and for public health initiative.
De Courcey started out at Sanofi, climbing the ranks to become a digital marketing associate before moving to Lundbeck, where she is a digital solutions specialist.
De Courcey will stop at nothing to ensure that everyone gets a fair chance. She lives and breathes empathy and is committed to creating meaningful change. She helped to create Sanofi’s disability action plan, making it the only pharma company to be registered with the Human Rights Commission.
De Courcey doesn’t chase success for the sake of it—she is committed to breaking down barriers and empowering others to turn challenges into opportunities. Described by her peers as “a natural leader,” de Courcey has big plans for the future and hopes to lead the healthcare and pharma sectors embrace more tech-driven and agile solutions.
TECH
Vivian Shen
Toastie, Google
Vivian Shen is committed to leaving the health tech space in a better place than she found it. After being diagnosed with PCOS, she co-founded Toastie to help others living with chronic illnesses by allowing them to understand and manage their health better.
Shen will stop at nothing to achieve her goal of normalising talking about health and improving health literacy. Through her tech expertise, she is addressing gaps in the sector, such as health tracking. Her business Toastie streamlines health tracking with an AI feature that scans the ingredients of a meal through a merely photo.
Shen is using her tech expertise to create a long-lasting, positive impact for Australians living with illnesses or seeking to understand and manage their health better. Shen rises above the challenges she sees in the health tech space by turning them into solutions.
Starting off as a data science intern at Atlassian, Shen joined Canva as a software engineer. Now, she works on iOS development as a software engineer at Google Maps.
She co-founded the Sydney iOS Development Community to foster knowledge sharing and mentorship among engineers. In 2024, Shen was named One Roof’s Startup Woman of the Year and was a 2024 Software Engineer of the Year finalist.
Shen’s passion and work ethic is seen by all those around her. Described by her manager at Google as having been “instrumental to many iOS feature launches since joining,” she’s also recognised for her “ambition and energy”. Shen is a true emerging leader and improving the lives of many.
PEOPLE'S CHOICE
KATE SPROULE
oOh!media
In a packed People’s Choice field, oOh!media’s Kate Sproule edged out the competition by a nose—nay, a whisker.
After tens of thousands of votes were cast, Sproule took the title by less than 50 votes. It was all to play for right until the final day.
It’s easy to see why Sproule took home the title, however. In less than two years at oOh! and Australia as a whole, she’s become a trusted advisor to many within the OOH giant. In fact, one of her bosses at oOh! described her as the “glue” that holds its team together.
“The holder of process, understander of product and one of the best teachers one could ask for,” they added, noting that new starters in the team were up and running faster than anyone could have reasonably expected thanks to Sproule’s positive approach and mastery of educating others.
There’s more to Sproule than getting ads on billboards, however. She’s voiced a sting in radio ads and has even written and produced a documentary on grief following a family tragedy.
Sproule’s entry video was a cracker as well. She jumped around between oOh! billboards and signs in some of its iconic sites in Melbourne, her new home having moved from New Zealand in 2023.
GRAND PRIX
CHARLIE DEJEAN
VML
Where to start with Charlie Dejean? At a time when creativity can seem to be in short supply, Dejean is a shining light among Australia’s young creatives.
Much of Dejean’s talents lie in his ability to blend expertise and skill with traditional forms of advertising with the kind of new technologies that might send other creatives scarpering. For instance, his work on a recruitment campaign for the Australian Defence Force was fantastic. He also envisioned the world’s biggest shoey for Reece’s.
However, he also taught AI to create POS ads for an optical client that told one story for people with good eyesight and a different one for those with poorer eyesight. He even helped Legacy overcome its single biggest problem—nobody carries cash—and connect the charity with Australians around the country.
It’s this duality that makes Dejean not only a Creative category winner at this year’s 30 Under 30 Awards, but the clear Grand Prix standout.
As you’d expect, however, there’s more. Dejean approaches the world with openness, dedication, kindness and—something that goes a lot further than you might think—politeness.
His entry video was laidback, yet crammed with laughs. He lets the work and the time dedicates to others speak for itself. With Dejean, it’s about the ‘we’, not the ‘me’.
“I think someone may have built him in a fucking machine,” said VML APAC’s chief creative Paul Nagy, “[he’s] a life-sized, Dynamic Young Creative action figure.”
“If he is human, then I’d 100 per cent say he’s the most impressive talent under 30 I’ve seen in a very long time. Would order more if I could.”
Endorsements don’t come much higher than that. We expect Dejean will be in the rarified air of the C-suite sooner, rather than later.
