Official Event Advisory Panel for Women in Media 2015
In developing the program and inviting speakers to this event, we research extensively with heads of operations, information technology, digital, marketing, people and culture, strategic planning, executive producers, sales and client relationship from across the media industry about their challenges in inspiring leadership and preparing for the new media landscape strategies. We then design an agenda in response to the specific challenges they face.
Quest Events would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank the panel members above who are contributing their valuable time and expertise to ensure the conference agenda is timely and relevant for all media professionals in Australia.
Jennifer Cooke
Editor
The Medical Observer
Jennifer is an award-winning journalist and author with more than three decades’ journalism experience. She worked for The Sydney Morning Herald for nearly 27 years, the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong for three years where she was chief reporter, and had stints at the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists in Washington, DC, Politifact Australia and teaching young journalism students at UTS. In between she won the Eureka Science Book Prize in 1999 for her first book, Cannibals, Cows & the CJD Catastrophe, and has co-authored several other books and chapters in anthologies in the true crime genre.
Kelly Ferguson
Chief Information Officer
Mi9
Ms Ferguson has been with Mi9 since 2011 and currently leads the Technology Group as Chief Information Officer.
As the Mi9 CIO, she is responsible for all product development, technology and creative build functions. In this role she works alongside the editorial and commercial teams to run the ninemsn network and Mi9’s suite of digital properties.
Prior to Mi9, Ms Ferguson was in the healthcare division of Philips Electronics Ltd. From 2000-2008 she worked at Microsoft, where she held many senior management roles. With 15 years of international experience in the technology, data and healthcare sectors, her career has taken her from the United States, Australia and the Asia-Pacific region to Europe and Africa.
Ms Ferguson leads through motivation, transparency and commitment to her people. She enjoys mentoring others and watching the retainment, promotion and progression of people not only in her own team but across the IT industry. She is passionate about the future of digital media and the exciting opportunities ahead for Mi9’s Technology Group.
On top of her professional responsibilities, Ms Ferguson is a mother of two and lives with her family on Sydney’s Northern Beaches.
Natalie Bettini
General Manager Marketing
Bauer Media Group
As General Manager of Marketing, Natalie is responsible for all aspects of marketing across Bauer’s major consumer titles. This also includes responsibility for subscriptions marketing. Her previous experience includes work in research at Synovate and marketing at Lotterywest and Golden Casket.
Lucielle Vardy
Strategic Planning Director
GPY&R
Lucielle is currently the Executive Head of Planning at George Patterson Y&R Sydney. In her role, she leads the thinking on large-scale behaviour change communications campaigns, and a number of lifestyle brands. She was recently part of a global team that was selected to work on a campaign for Nobel Laureate Al Gore and the United Nations, to address climate inaction amongst world leaders. Before moving to GPY&R, Lucielle held senior roles in the media, marketing and advertising industry. She was on the launch team that introduced Virgin Mobile to the South African market, and has also run her own strategic communications consultancy.
Lucielle has achieved her Chartered Marketer Designation (CM). She is a strong believer in transferring knowledge, and has: spoken at a number of youth symposiums, contributed to a book ‘Hitchhikers Guide to Mobile’ and helped coach young talent through the Media Federation of Australia’s NGEN initiative.
In 2014, she was awarded the 2014 B&T Women in Media Awards winner for Strategy.
Penny Kaleta
Sales Director
Fairfax Media
My career in media sales commenced with EMAP regional newspapers and the Guardian Media Group in the UK 20 years ago.
In 2005, I joined Fairfax Media, Australasia’s largest media company, and have had the privilege of enjoying various challenging leadership roles. Managing strategy and implementation across all platforms in both Metro and Regional media
Extensive experience in change leadership, talent management and sales delivery which was recognised in 2010 I was awarded the Fairfax Sales Manager of the year award in 2010 and was also recipient of the Pacific Australasian Newspaper Association’s (PANPA) Sales Manager award in the same year.
Andrea Ingham
National Sales Director
Southern Cross Austereo
I have 20 years’ experience in media sales with DMG Radio (now Nova Ent.), Southern Cross Broadcasting, the Nine Network and Southern Cross Austereo where I am National Sales Director.
I have a passion for creating dynamic and constructive environments where people excel.
I proudly support and offer my time to charities The Van Wright Foundation and iManifest.
I also run an organization SWIMM - Senior Women in Media and Marketing which exists to connect and support women in the industry.
Suzanne Ryan
Chief Executive Officer and Executive Producer
SLR Production
Suzanne is the Founder and CEO of SLR Productions, a company she established in 2002. Suzanne has Executive Produced over 145 hours of award winning children’s content, which has sold into 160 territories worldwide. As an Emmy Award winning producer, a twice recipient of the SPA Children’s Producer of the Year award and a winner of the 2014 B&T’s Women in Media Producer of the year award, she has over 20 years experience in the television business. She is listed consecutively in the 'Who's Who of Australian Women' annual edition and was also a SPA board member for three years heading up the Animation & New Media Division.
SLR Productions has become one of Australia's most successful children's entertainment companies partnering with major broadcasters, producers, distributors, publishers and creatives worldwide in the creation, development and production of top quality media content.
Examples of the highly successful brands created and produced by SLR under the guidance of Suzanne include the newly adapted UK picture books Captain Flinn and The Pirate Dinosaurs; the drama series Sam Fox: Extreme Adventures; the internationally acclaimed classic preschool property, Guess How Much I Love You™; the animated adventure comedy series The Skinner Boys – Guardians of the Lost Secrets and the Emmy Award winning animated series I Got a Rocket™.
Suzanne is passionate about Australian media content and is both a mentor and a long-term employer in the industry. Throughout the years she has continually promoted the Australian children’s TV industry in numerous ways including the setting up and running of an annual networking event at the Kidscreen Summit in New York for four consecutive years in order to promote Australian producers, as well as her contribution to SPA by continually encouraging the attendance of high profile international broadcasters, distributors and producers to its annual conference resulting in not only successfully raising the profile of the children’s strand of SPA but also in substantially increasing its attendees.
Valentina Borbone
Co-Owner and Client Relationship Director
Zuni
Valentina Borbone is Client Relationship Director and joint owner of Zuni, a boutique digital consultancy specialising in helping businesses use digital channels to achieve business outcomes.
Val’s 22 years of marketing experience spreads across the most impressive and formidable companies in Australia. Val’s breadth of experience across cinema advertising, mass-media interactive television, radio and print provides a solid foundation of looking at consumer problems through the eyes of brands, utilising media to provide solutions.
Having had a range of senior management roles, Val’s personal experiences with female leadership and career progression have ensured that she is able to run a successful small business and find a work-life balance with her husband and two young children.
Val has a vast amount of experience in media and marketing plus the legal and regulatory affairs that bind them, together with 5 years experience as the digital lead tutor for ADMA’s Digital Marketing Certificate, Digital Essentials and Email Marketing courses.
Angela Clark
Director, Digital Network
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Vanessa Graham
Head of News
News Corp Australia