INMA has named the 30 young executives whose careers will get a leg up thanks to the group’s Young Professionals Initiative.

They include three candidates from India, and one each from Australia, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Japan, New Zealand and Singapore.

The competiton for “rising stars” in news media is in its second year, and attracted 133 applicants in July and August.

Members of the association’s Young Professionals Committee reviewed applications and voted on six award recipients in each of five categories – advertising, audience, content, leadership and product. Criteria included being under 30 years of age, early career achievements, insights into innovation, ability to influence and likely management skills.

The winners in each of the five categories come from 20 countries:

Advertising:

Shirine Bauer, Digital Business Developer, Aftonbladet, Sweden;

Katie Fabry, Marketing Director, Wall Street Journal, USA;

Afrian Muflihul Imron, Programmatic Sales & Operations Manager, KG Media, Indonesia;

Nastasia Pawlak, Manager Business Development, Axel Springer, Germany;

Damini Pustake, Senior Officer, Times of India, India;

Mark Rossman, Major Accounts Manager, LNP Media Group, USA.

Audience:

Cédric Algoed, Data Performance Manager, DPG Media, Belgium;

Brianne Kennedy, Associate Director, Member Engagement, Wall Street Journal, USA;

Nidhi Mahajan, Associate Editor, Audience Engagement, The Quint, India;

Giuliana Pasquali, Social Media Analyst, Clarín, Argentina;

Mitchell Powell, Head of Social/Newsroom, NZME, New Zealand;

Katharina Puntigam, Digital Subscription Manager, Kleine Zeitung, Austria.

Content:

Julia Beil, Senior Editor and Co-Leader, Department For Career, Science and Life News, Insider, Germany;

Rafeed Elahi Chowdhury, Lead, Content and Product Growth, The Business Standard, Bangladesh;

Denis Domínguez, Editor, El Heraldo, Honduras;

Lee Hee Ai, Team Lead (Young Audience), Singapore Press Holdings, Singapore;

Claudia Mann, Editor in Chief, Futter Magazine/Kleine Zeitung, Austria;

Lilys Njeru, Correspondent, Nation Media Group, Kenya.

Leadership:

Kayla Alexander, Head of Audience Development, Media24/network24.com, South Africa;

Peder Engesæth, Director/Consumer and Lifestyle, Aller Media, Norway;

Betina Hughes Sheen, Senior Producer, The Canberra Times (Australian Community Media), Australia;

Katherine Landeck, Co-Director of Planning, Gannett New England, USA;

Agnes Stenbom, Responsible AI Specialist, Schibsted, Sweden;

Daniela Werbeniec, Senior Project Manager and Communications Lead, Agora, Poland.

Product:

Cloudy Carnegie, Senior Data Scientist, Financial Times, UK;

Cassidy Grom, News App Developer, The Star-Ledger (Advance Local), USA;

Hiroya Kato, Web Developer and Voice Actor, Nikkei, Japan;

Hemant Sahni, Lead Analyst/Data & Analytics, HT Media, India;

Sarah Weishäupl, Head of Product Management, Die Presse, Austria;

Bettina Widmer, Head of Vertical Hub and New Audiences, Blick Group (Ringier), Switzerland.

To view profiles of all 30 winners, click here

Beyond recognition, ‘30 Under 30’ awards recipients will receive access to INMA master classes, INMA membership benefits, and more. All 133 applicants have been provided access to an INMA Young Professionals Initiative Slack channel for ideas-sharing and networking.

“It's the second year we are awarding and lifting up 30 global talents in the media industry under 30 years, and I am both impressed and personally inspired by this year's group of aspiring stars,” said Mari-Marthe Aamold, chair of the committee overseeing the INMA Young Professionals Initiative as well as general manager and CFO of Bergens Tidende and Stavanger Aftenblad in Norway.

Executive director Earl Wilkinson said the 2021 class of INMA 30 Under 30 Awards reflected broad geographical, gender, and racial diversity. “You can see with the 30 award winners the diverse incubation grounds for future media leaders: data, product, audience development, planning, social media and marketing.”