Two decades ago, Mediaweek featured three Australian industry executives based overseas in a piece that asked them about different aspects of their careers.
Greg ‘Sparrow’ Graham, Linda Robson, and Brett Stewart each carved out exceptional careers that have seen them work all over the world.
The original piece was written by former Mediaweek contributing editor Janis Carter. Helping blaze a trail for women in media agencies, Janis was national media director and sat on the worldwide media board for ad agency Lintas. She later led the breakaway of the Lintas media department to create one of the first independent media buying agencies in Australia, Initiative Media. The IPG Mediabrands business was, and has remained, an award-winning media agency since that time.
In this retrospective piece, the trio look back on their journeys, share their thoughts on the state of the industry today and reveal the advice they would give their 2002 selves.
Brett Stewart
Where are you now, and what is your role?
I’m currently in Northern California, although I will return to Australia in early 2023.
I’ve just finished my role as VP of global marketing planning at 2K Games, where I’d been for 3½ years, and I’m now going to enjoy what I’m calling a sabbatical.
How did your stint overseas enrich your career?
I’ve been working overseas since 1994, so the majority of my career has been overseas. I’ve been extraordinarily lucky in that I’ve been given many fantastic opportunities across Singapore, Indonesia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and the USA.
After leaving New York in 2005, I spent 13 years in Hong Kong and returned to the USA in 2019. The diverse cultures and ways of working I’ve experienced have had a huge impact on me, both professionally and personally.
What excites you about the industry today?
A few years ago, I was concerned that very few young stars were coming up through the ranks – it felt like people weren’t interested in joining our industry.
Fortunately, today there seems to be a resurgence in interest. I think that’s because we’ve become much better at mentoring and investing time in recruits. So the breadth and depth of young upcoming talent is really exciting.
It feels that we’re much more focussed on business outcomes now than we were in the past – that’s mostly because of our ability to measure success is so much easier and faster now. However, there’s also been a concerted shift towards measuring business success across all marketing communications channels.
What are three industry issues on your mind?
1. Work/life balance was a challenge before Covid. However, the lines were blurred even more during lockdowns. I believe the industry needs to collectively ensure that people at every level aren’t burning out.
2. Data privacy and the impact on targeting have been discussed and debated ad nauseam; however, there is still a lack of consensus on what the future should look like.
3. Some relationships between clients, agencies and other partners could do with a reset, as it feels like the sense of partnership that was so prevalent in the past has been almost entirely subjugated to speed and price.
What advice would you give your 2002 self?
• Be much more disciplined when it comes to work/life balance and make sure and take regular time out – there are quite a few personal things I missed because work always took priority.
• Don’t sweat the small stuff – not everything has to be 100% perfect all the time: “progress, not perfection”.
Linda Robson
Linda Robson
Where are you now, and what is your role?
I am no longer working as a regional communications director. In 2007, I moved into the learning and development space with GroupM based out of Singapore.
Ten years later, my manager, Maree McDonough, and I set up a learning and development company, The Hummingbirds. My role as executive director is to help everyone become the best version of themselves. We do this through our training, coaching, and mentoring programs.
I love that my role enables me to wear many hats, so each day is different. On top of being a trainer, coach, and mentor, I’m also responsible for client service, new business, finance, and instructional design.
How did your stint overseas enrich your career?
As far as I’m aware, we are one of the few (if not the only) trainers from the industry who have trained and coached learners from 13 Asia Pacific markets, including China, India, South East Asia, Australia, and New Zealand.
Many of today’s CEOs have been through training with us. As a result, we have been able to grow our business outside of Australia. As this goes to press, I am in Singapore delivering workshops for a global media/communications company with learners from diverse backgrounds.
What excites you about the industry today?
There is a significant focus on people development and training. The title “chief talent officer” didn’t exist when I first joined the industry. In the early days, we didn’t have much formal training and learned primarily from our managers, which was great if you had a great manager.
In the 90s, a group of us (including Haydon Bray and Margot Reimer) set up a fledgling MFA training team spearheaded by the late great Ian Lane. It’s incredible to see how brilliantly this has grown under the tutelage of Linda Wong and Sophie Madden.
It fuelled my passion for training, and I was lucky enough to find my dream job with the GroupM Aspire L&D team led by the incomparable Genelle Sharples and supported by one of our industry’s legends, John “Steady” Steedman.
What are three industry issues on your mind?
1. The deprioritisation of training when times are tough. We were fortunate to have many clients continue to support their talent throughout the pandemic with external training, even when they themselves were doing it tough. But unfortunately, it tends to be the first budget that gets cut.
2. The churn. Yes, back in my days, we would lose talent to other agencies but what concerns me is losing talent outside of agency land. I don’t think we’re doing enough to motivate everyone to build their career in an agency. There has never been a better time with many more roles available to carve out a career in Australia and beyond.
3. Ageism. I’m so proud of my friend, Sparrow, for raising this, and have just joined the AAAG with him. I’ll leave it to him to expound on this more.
What advice would you give your 2002 self?
Don’t wait 40 years to find your true passion. Whilst I loved my time in the business (and would not have my own business if it wasn’t for the wonderful industry friend who believed in us), I came to the realisation that as much as I love growing brands, I love growing people more.
Greg’ Sparrow’ Graham
Where are you now, and what is your role?
It is a bit embarrassing, however, lately, where haven’t I been? Obviously, I love working with Mediaweek, and I am super busy with The Nest Consultancy.
A great scope of different projects, from Pitch Doctor work, training and development, coaching, event management, and general business/leadership consulting.
How did your stint overseas enrich your career?
My stint at Mindshare New York gave me incredible new business experience pitching nonstop for seven years. Working with teams in LA, Chicago, Atlanta and Toronto.
Plus, I was involved in a few big global pitches and helped coordinate North and South America pitches.
What excites you about the industry today?
The creativity and exceptional talent in the industry still excite me, and most importantly, we are producing great work that drives client business growth.
I get inspired at awards shows that showcase our innovation, ROI, and getting results. Also, lately, I have been inspired by my visits to SXSW in Austin, Texas, where I come away with the latest trends in tech, and inspiration is on every corner.
What are three industry issues on your mind?
1. Ageism – if we truly believe in diversity, why aren’t we doing more to address ageism? I have started the triple-AG (Advertising Ageism Action Group) and hope over the next 12 months we can advocate and create positive change.
2. Churn – when it’s at an average of 34% and only 3.6 years of tenure, what more can we do to keep the best talent in the industry and foster loyalty/longevity?
3. Mentoring & coaching – it is so valuable, and we talk about it but don’t always follow through. Less talk, and more action, as mentoring and coaching are invaluable, and you don’t just do them when things are good.
What advice would you give your 2002 self?
Such a good question… take feedback as a gift, and do not be defensive. Plus, eat better and exercise more (or, in my case, just start.)
Original Mediaweek feature piece from 2002
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Top image, left to right: Brett Stewart, Linda Robson and Greg Graham