The brightest rising talents in Australian advertising, media and marketing were honoured in the 2026 AdNews Emerging Leaders.
Judges from the MFA, IMAA, IAB and Advertising Council Australia picked the 20 Emerging Leaders, celebrated at a cocktail ceremony in Melbourne. Snapchat backed the program as presenting partner.
The program recognises outstanding adland talent on the rise to the C-Suite, with this year's cohort spanning agencies, media owners, platforms and independents across the country.
Congratulations to Grand Prix winner Ernest Fu of Prophet and to every finalist.
Fu, a Prophet data scientist, rebuilt the platform's data architecture after joining the business in January 2025, helping it scale and earn recognition as one of the AFR's most innovative companies.
And thank you to guest speaker Virginia Hyland, the Advertising Hall of Fame inductee, for her keynote address.
Scroll through the gallery below to meet 2026 Emerging Leaders.
Thank you to our sponsors. Presenting Partner Snapchat, Supporting Partners Blis, WPP Media, ARN, Publicis Group, Spotify, and friends of AdNews the IMAA and the MFA.
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