Virginia Hyland, one of the first women to launch a media agency in an industry that was dominated by men in the top ranks, was inducted into the Advertising Hall of Fame in February 2026
“What an incredible honour it is to be inducted into the Hall of Fame alongside this incredible room and extraordinary talent in our industry,” she said at the AdNews Agency of the Year awards at a long lunch event in Sydney.
“Our industry is small, so be kind. You don't really know what's happening in a person's life, so make sure that you're gentle with each other along the way. Then you wrap your arms around each other. Always care for the people around you and your team, because mine have carried me on their wings.
“Ideas come from people. Trust is built between people, and great work still happens when people feel safe enough to take risks together. And working comes from clients when they can feel your commitment.”
Hyland, from Gilgai, near Inverell in the Northern Tablelands of NSW, started in advertising at the Sydney Morning Herald classifieds just before her 18th birthday.
Seven years later she went to Australian Consolidated Press (ACP) in a group sales role and at age of 26 became ACP’s youngest advertising manager of a magazine, Woman’s Day.
After five years at ACP, she joined a media buying and planning agency, Media Tactics. A year later when the major client, Onetel, went bust she set up Hyland Media, within a larger global agency, Total Advertising (which later reincarnated as PHD).
Hyland shifted to focus on digital media channels when the online era hit marketing. She also launched Programmatic Media to help train clients on programmatic.
Her agency was acquired by Havas in 2020 and she now heads SQUAD M&A, a specialist advisory firm to guide independent creative, PR, media, tech and digital agencies through sales, mergers and partnerships.
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