Paige Wheaton is the national managing director of Initiative, where she has been the steady hand through a period of change. She brings a commercially minded, calm leadership style, heavily influenced by her investment background.
At Initiative, Wheaton works closely with major clients including the likes of Netflix and Officeworks. She is recognised for her bold ideas, supportive nature and cultivating an exceptional team culture.
In this week’s Fast 10, B&T’s very own Greg ‘Sparrow’ Graham and Paige Wheaton talked pushing practical innovation and backing people early.
1. You’ve had a brilliant career, starting at Pearman Media, and fast forward to now, you are the National MD of Initiative. If you had to pick only one, what would be your career highlight so far?
Paige Wheaton: It would come as no surprise to most that the past 18 months, while challenging, have also been my career highlight. Working alongside Jo McAlister to lead Initiative through a period of real transformation has funnily enough drawn heavily on my investment and trading roots. Trading teaches you to read signals early, back conviction, and move decisively when the market shifts; a mindset that has shaped how we’ve repositioned Initiative.
2. A big congrats on your recent promotion, so well deserved. How has your investment/trading experience informed your leadership style?
PW: Thank you! Investment taught me two things very quickly: discipline and nerve. We all know the market moves fast, and you learn to make decisions with clarity, even when the data isn’t perfect. That’s shaped a leadership style that’s calm in chaos, commercially sharp, and always looking around corners. It’s also made me obsessed with momentum: how to create it, sustain it, and channel it into growth for our people and clients.
3. You have some blue-chip clients, e.g., Netflix, IAG, Hello Fresh, Officeworks, etc. How do you drive & nurture innovation for them?
PW: I see innovation as a muscle, not a moment. For our clients we build innovation into all aspects of our operating system. We stay deeply connected to culture, audience behaviour and operational evolution, and we bring our clients ideas that are creatively brave and commercially grounded. Most importantly, we create environments where experimentation is safe and expected. That’s where the breakthroughs happen.
4. As a young girl, what did you want to be when you grew up?
PW: People who know me may think this is slightly off brand (I’m not the most outdoorsy type)…but I wanted to be an Egyptologist. I was fascinated by uncovering hidden stories and understanding how people lived, thought and behaved. In a funny way, media isn’t that different; we decode human behaviour, uncover cultural signals, and help brands navigate the world around them. I just swapped pyramids for platforms.
5. I love the way you champion your teams and foster outstanding young talent. What fuels this passion?
PW: Our industry only moves forward when our people do. I get so much energy from seeing emerging talent find their voice and realise what they’re capable of. An important leader in my career once backed me before I believed in myself and that changed everything. I want to create that same spark for others. It’s the most meaningful part of leadership.
6. As an industry, what’s one thing you would change to make us all better?
PW: I’d love to see the industry create environments where people feel safer to take smart risks. My take: confidence only exists when you trust the space you’re in. At Initiative, that belief underpins everything; when people feel supported, they move faster, think bigger and create work that genuinely shifts culture.
7. It’s a tough market at the moment. How are you driving growth for your clients?
PW: Growth today is about precision and bravery. We’re helping clients focus on the levers that truly drive business outcomes: sharper audience design, cultural relevance, creativity that earns attention, and measurement that proves impact. We’re also pushing for bolder ideas, because in a cluttered market, staying safe is the riskiest move of all.
8. What’s the best career advice you’ve been given?
PW: To back myself even when it feels uncomfortable. Growth rarely happens in the moments you feel ready; it happens in the moments you step anyway. I try to live this every day. At Initiative we have a “word of the year” and for 2026, mine is “trust”. In yourself, your vision, and that it’s going to work out.
9. What’s one thing that’s not on your LinkedIn profile?
PW: I have an encyclopaedic knowledge of reality TV; the kind that’s both impressive and maybe also slightly concerning. I can analyse a Summer House blindside with the same energy I bring to a pitch, and I maintain strong (and correct) opinions about every Real Housewives franchise. It’s my guilty pleasure and my cultural research, all in one.
10. Important last question: Do your parents really know what you do?
PW: They know I “work in media” and “help brands get noticed,” which is… close enough. They’re very proud, even if they think my job is mostly making ads and “being on the computer.”
