The International News Media Association (INMA) today unveiled its list of 30 young professionals worldwide judged rising stars in the news media industry for 2021. This is the second year INMA has run this global competition.
The “30 Under 30 Awards” competition is part of INMA’s Young Professionals Initiative and received 133 applicants in July and August.
Members of the association’s Young Professionals Committee reviewed applications and voted on six award recipients in five categories: Advertising, Audience, Content, Leadership, and Product.
Criteria for selection included being under 30 years of age, early-career achievements, insights into innovation, ability to influence, and likely management skills.
Winners in each of the five categories, coming from 20 countries, are:
Advertising
- Shirine Bauer, digital business developer, Aftonbladet, Sweden
- Katie Fabry, marketing director, Wall Street Journal, United States
- 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, United States
Audience
- Cédric Algoed, data performance manager, DPG Media, Belgium
- Brianne Kennedy, associate director, Member Engagement, Wall Street Journal, United States
- 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 (Australia Community Media), Australia
- Katherine Landeck, co-director of planning, Gannett New England, United States
- 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, United Kingdom
- Cassidy Grom, news app developer, The Star-Ledger (Advance Local), United States
- 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
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.
INMA consecutively honouring the rising star
“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 chief financial officer of Bergens Tidende and Stavanger Aftenblad in Norway.
“We are so proud of the 2021 class of INMA 30 Under 30 Awards, which reflects broad geographical, gender, and racial diversity,” said Earl J. Wilkinson, executive director and chief executive officer of INMA. “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. INMA looks forward to a fuller embrace of this year’s 30 Under 30 Awards class over the next year.”
