40 Under 40: Did you make the cut?

By By Darren Davidson | 7 October 2011
 

If you’re young, talented and driven, media is a great place to be. Don’t believe us? Well, read on and prepare to be proven wrong.

Our annual 40 Under 40 list is proof positive of where the media business can take you if you have the smarts and a burning desire to succeed.

Much has been said in the past year about the punishing culture of long hours endemic in media, and while that’s undoubtedly true in some areas of the business, 40 Under 40 is a celebration of one undeniable truth: Media not only rewards youth but thrives on it.

If you’re one of this year’s 40 Under 40: Congratulations. Give yourself a big pat on the back, because the competition for a place on this year’s list was fierce. We had more nominations this year than any other year since 40 Under 40’s launch in the last decade. 

Culling the list of hundreds of nominees to 40 people was a brutal task. A sign of a deep seam of talent that runs right through agencies, advertisers and media owners. If you entered or nominated a colleague, thank you for taking the time to enter - we're sorry if we failed to acknowledge your entry before today's announcement.

In compiling our list, we judged the nominees against a criteria: Do they occupy a position of leadership, run a department or company, and control financial resources?

Does the candidate have influence in multiple spheres, a demonstrable track record of innovation and creativity, respect among peers, or a knack for rewriting and reinterpreting the rules of business?

Some fast facts. The list has an average age of 35.4. Creative agency stars occupy 12 places on the list, while advertisers command nine places, media owners eight, and media agencies five. The remainder of the 40 under 40 is split across a combination of production companies, brand agencies, one ad network and a trade body.

The oldest 40 Under 40 on the list is Ben Coulson, who will be four decades old within the week. Happy Birthday Ben. The youngest is Josh Mullens, a star in the making.

In previous years, the AdNews 40 Under 40 has featured the power brokers of today. James Warburton, Tony Kendall, Todd Sampson and Henry Tajer are just some of the names we’ve tipped for media glory.

Keep an eye out for the names on this year’s crop. They’ll be banging down doors and running through walls for years to come.

The full list is in today's AdNews, but to give you a teaser, here's a list of the companies this year's 40 Under 40 work for listed alphabetically:

Adconion
ADMA
Austar
The Australian Ballet
Bank of Queensland
Coca-Cola
CumminsRoss
DDB Sydney
FremantleMedia
George Patterson Y&R Melbourne
GroupM
The Hallway
Host
Hulsbosch
Ikon Communications
Interbrand Sydney
Johnson & Johnson
Lavender
MediaCom
Mindshare
The Monkeys
Naked Communications
Network Ten
News Digital Media
News Magazines
Ninemsn
Oasis Active
Optus
Publicis Mojo
Qantas Frequent Flyer
SBS
Seven Network
Soap Creative
Telstra
Westfield
Westpac
Whybin TBWA
Will O'Rourke
Wonder Communications
The Works

Have something to say? Send us your comments using the form below or contact the writer at darrendavidson@yaffa.com.au

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