Cindy Gallop kicks off with Verizon Media

AUCKLAND, Friday: Ad provocateur Cindy Gallop, accompanied by exec coach and former Gruen panellist Claire Salvetti, were “in town” yesterday to help launch The Verizon Media Academy Masterclass 2021 webinar (“providing free online career training for everyone in the media and marketing industry”.)

Other inspirational speakers on the fortnightly programme (through April and May) include Verizon Media’s global chief business officer Ivan Markman, executive media coach Catriona Dixon, and RYOT Studio ANZ head of brand Zoe Cocker.  

The virtual masterclass series kicked off yesterday with a live workshop from Gallop, titled Blow it up: Re-making the industry for the better. The TED speaker and tech entrepreneur, known for her no-nonsense approach to tackling industry issues, delved into ways to challenge the status quo and integrate equality, diversity and inclusion into your everyday working processes.

Topics covered include overcoming imposter syndrome, empathetic leadership skills, harnessing creativity and tech to reach new heights, and communicating like a pro.

Commenting on her involvement in the series, Cindy Gallop said: “I was very  excited to be opening this series and leading a thought-provoking but above all actionable masterclass. After such a whirlwind of a year there’s so much opportunity right now to reinvent our industry for the better.”

Verizon Media ANZ MD ANZ Paul Sigaloff, who’s based in Sydney, said: “Last year when we opened our Masterclass series to the public in the spirit of inclusivity we received overwhelming demand.

“Being able to use the global reach of the Verizon Media brand to bring these talented speakers to local audiences has been an incredibly rewarding experience. We’re very excited to be back again this year with even more incredible speakers like Cindy Gallop and continuing our commitment to building up industry education in an inclusive way.”

• Register to attend the rest of the Verizon Media Academy Masterclass series here: verizonmedia.com/masterclass

Future leaders
The 44 future leaders who have been selected into this year’s Verizon Media Academy Class of 2021 features young talent from across the Australian and New Zealand media landscape including Hearts & Science, OMD, The Warehouse Group and Wavemaker.

In addition to the Masterclass series, this year’s delegates will receive  exclusive training, mentoring and networking opportunities aimed at building their personal brand and accelerating their careers. 

Sigaloff welcomed the new cohort and applauded their industry recognition: “Congratulations to the Class of 2021 on your selection. We had an impressive response with over 170 nominations from senior leaders across Australia and New Zealand. It’s great to see that the industry is just as passionate about our future leaders as we are.”

Suzie Thompson, group business director at dentsu Auckland, who successfully nominated Carat’s Jesse Knight for the programme, said: “We may be a small country but we’ve got some mighty talent on our shores.

“Dentsu NZ is proud to again support an initiative that aligns with our commitment to foster promising young professionals.”

“Verizon Media Academy is such a great opportunity for rising stars like Jesse to learn from international industry talent and build relationships with other emerging leaders across the world.

“Dentsu is proud to once again be involved in the programme and support an initiative that aligns with our commitment to foster promising young professionals. I’m personally also looking forward to tuning into the Masterclass series and learning some invaluable lessons from such a high calibre of international talent.”

The Class of 2021 New Zealand attendees:

• Ashlee Choi (MBM)
• Blaine Hudson (The Warehouse Group)
• Chris Young (PHD)
• Claudine Gregg (PHD Media)
• Jenny Fulton (Wavemaker)
• Jesse Knight (Carat)
• Lauren Kennaway (Hearts & Science NZ)
• Sam Masterton (OMD)

Twenty-six Australia-based participants included represents from Aussie shops Ikon, Universal McCann, OMD, Wavemaker, MediaCom, PHD, PHD Media, Mindshare, JCDecaux AUNZ, Starcom, Zenith and Carat.

Verizon Media Academy Masterclass Series 2021 schedule:

• 9am AEDT / 11am NZDT Thursday March 25 – Blow it up: Re-making the industry for the better with Cindy Gallop – World Class Brand Innovator
• 3pm AEST / 5pm NZDT Thursday April 15  – Drop the spin and get comfortable in your skin with Claire Salvetti – Executive Coach and PR Leader
• 9am AEST / 11am NZDT Thursday April 29 – Managing your career like a business with Ivan Markman – Global Chief Business Officer
• 9am AEST / 11am NZDT Thursday May 13 – Talk like a boss: Leadership Communication with Catriona Dixon – media and presentation training
• 9am AEST / 11am NZDT Thursday May 27 – How to create innovative ideas people love with Zoe Cocker, Head of RYOT Studios

About Verizon Media
Verizon Media, a division of Verizon Communications, Inc., houses a trusted media ecosystem of premium brands like Yahoo News, Yahoo Finance, Yahoo Sport, and Yahoo Lifestyle to help people stay informed and entertained, communicate and transact, while creating new ways for advertisers and media partners to connect. From XR experiences to advertising and content technology, Verizon Media is an incubator of innovation and is revolutionising the next generation of content creation in a 5G world.

• www.verizonmedia.com/en-nz

About Cindy Gallop
Lucinda “Cindy” Lee Gallop (born 1 February 1960) is an English advertising consultant, founder and former chair of the US branch of advertising firm Bartle Bogle Hegarty, and founder of the IfWeRanTheWorld and MakeLoveNotPorn companies. According to the TED blog, Gallop’s TEDTalk Make Love Not Porn was one of the “most talked about presentations” at the 2009 TED conference. She lives in New York City.