For someone who has spent most of her career working behind the scenes, taking home the Tech Award at last year’s B&T Women in Media Awards was the last thing Foxtel Media’s Vicki Chen expected on the night.
In fact, the Foxtel Media executive had spent the entire evening convinced that if she won anything, it would be the People’s Choice Award.
Instead, it was the judges who called her name.
Enter B&T’s Women In Media Awards, presented by Are Media!
As head of intelligence, trading and digital operations at Foxtel Media, Chen is responsible for forecasting, packaging, trading and optimising advertising inventory across the company’s platforms.
She drives Foxtel Media’s programmatic trading ecosystem and sits at the intersection of technology, operations and commercial strategy. But despite leading major technology transformations and helping drive significant business growth, Chen admitted she had never imagined herself in the spotlight.
With this years awards just around the corner, B&T sat down with Chen on Wednesday to look back on the evening.
“When my name was called out I was in complete shock. I had seen the other women in the category and they were incredible. You convince yourself it won’t be you.”
“This was my first award submission,” she said. “I’ve always been the support person. I’ve always been the one behind the scenes advocating for other people. But in this case, I had my manager, John Matthews, who encouraged me to enter.”
She said after submitting the work, she assumed she wouldn’t hear about it again.
“You write it, submit it and move on, just like homework,” Chen recalled.
Weeks later, however, she discovered she had been shortlisted. Then came the profile photos, public announcements and requests to campaign for votes in the People’s Choice category.
“For someone who normally works behind the scenes, suddenly I had to learn how to advocate for myself publicly,” she said. “I was asking vendors, clients, friends and my team to vote for me. It felt very strange.”
Enter B&T’s Women In Media Awards, presented by Are Media!
On the day of the awards, Chen had convinced herself the People’s Choice trophy was her most likely chance of success. She had spent weeks ranking among the leading candidates and had built strong support through her extensive volunteer and community work.
That morning, she went on a two-hour walk and spent “more time than usual meditating” to calm her nerves. “I genuinely thought if I was going to win anything, it would be People’s Choice,” she said. “So winning a judged tech award instead felt incredibly meaningful.”
Not only had the industry voted for her, she said, but a panel of judges had recognised her work. “It felt like I won the people and I won the tech side as well.”
One year on, Chen believes the award was “about far more than business performance”.
Over the previous 12 months, she had led forecasting and machine learning initiatives designed to predict audience behaviour across Foxtel’s sports streaming platforms, helping the company optimise inventory and advertising revenue.
“For years, I’ve been mentoring people, running free martial arts days for kids and teenagers, and helping women who speak English as a second language through Toastmasters,” she said. “I did those things because I believed in them. I didn’t think anyone cared.”
Initially, Chen hadn’t even planned to include those activities in her submission.
It was her manager who encouraged her to tell the full story. “He said, ‘You need to put in the things you do outside work’,” she recalled.
“I thought, ‘Why would anyone care about that? This is a work award,'” she told B&T.
“That sort of work gets you through the door,” she said. “And when I look at the women who win these awards, it’s not only about business results. It’s about mentoring, community building, volunteering and creating opportunities for other women.”
Enter B&T’s Women In Media Awards, presented by Are Media!
The recognition on the night was also “deeply personal” to Chen.
“After winning, it was in that moment that I realised people actually do care about the things you do behind the scenes,” she said. “It taught me that the work we do quietly still matters. Sometimes people are paying attention, even when you think nobody is looking.”
The win has since become what Chen describes as “the biggest highlight” of her career.
As an Asian woman working in technology leadership, she admits many of the people she represents are naturally more comfortable building quietly than promoting themselves publicly.
“I work in industries where leadership and technology roles haven’t always looked like me,” she said. “Putting myself forward wasn’t only about myself. It was about showing other Asian women what’s possible.”
In fact, Chen believes the award carries a responsibility far beyond individual recognition.
“I feel like I’m paving the way for women, for Asian women, and for the tech operators who work behind the scenes,” she said. “We’re often the people who are more comfortable quietly building and quietly achieving.”
Enter B&T’s Women In Media Awards, presented by Are Media!
