Our Young Gun profile takes a look at some of the young talent across the advertising, ad tech, marketing and media sector in Australia. It aims to shed light on the varying roles, people and companies across the buzzing industry.
Today we speak to Xandr account manager Natalya Maley.
How long have you been in the industry?
About two years.
Duration in current role/time at the company:
Over a year.
What were you doing before this job and how did you get this gig?
I was working for a company called TRO, helping agencies with their AdWords strategy.
Define your job in one word:
Caffeinated.
What were your real and cliché expectations of working in the industry?
Ping pong tables, bean bags, and free food.
How does the reality match up?
We only have one ping pong table… We do have really talented and hard-working people who always have something interesting to say!
How would you describe what the company does and what does your role involve?
Xandr is a global advertising company dedicated to creating a premium advertising marketplace that makes it easy for buyers to reach their target audience across screens, and at scale, and for sellers to achieve better yield by aggregating inventory with other premium publishers. In my role, I work closely with clients to ensure they’re achieving their goals with our technology in the most efficient way possible.
My role involves:
Making sure my clients get the best out of their relationship with Xandr, whether that be through designing a new strategy, integrating a new product, or troubleshooting an issue.
Best thing about the industry you work in:
The pace. In adtech, there’s always something happening and something new to learn about.
Any major hard learnings in the job so far?
The flip side of a fast-paced industry is that you need to get comfortable with a certain degree of uncertainty and ambiguity.
If you had to switch over to another department, which would it be and why?
Product. It would be awesome to work at the cutting edge of developing new solutions for our clients.
What's exciting you about the industry right now?
Technology capabilities are constantly advancing, allowing companies to explore new and exciting products from addressable TV to programmatic out-of-home.
What concerns you about the industry and its future?
If the same few players continue to dominate digital advertising, it could potentially stifle innovation and impact publishers’ ability to act autonomously and create diversified revenue streams.
Who's your right hand person/who guides you day to day?
I would be completely lost without Aurel Bordewieck, solutions consultant/official Brad-Pitt lookalike at Xandr.
And your almighty mentor that you hope to dethrone?
Erica Blakslee, senior account director at Xandr. Erica has been an incredible mentor to me and is a true champion for women in adtech!
Career-wise, where do you see yourself in 2020 and how do you plan on getting there?
I’d love to gain exposure to different markets overseas. I intend to work hard, learn from those around me, and seize every opportunity to get there.
What is the elephant in the room?
Online data can create relevant, customised experiences for users, but it can also make people uncomfortable. The best way for companies to win back consumer trust is through increased transparency and industry collaboration, as well as compliance with established privacy regulation like the GDPR.
Where do you turn for inspiration?
The people I work with. Our office is full of talented people who have a real passion for this industry. Beyond their work, they are committed to making the industry better by supporting and often pioneering diversity and inclusion initiatives. For me, seeing my co-workers take a big picture view of their careers and what they are trying to achieve is very inspiring.
Tell us one thing people at work don’t know about you?
When I was a kid, I had a very brief stint on the Disney channel. It’s my career highlight to date.
Favourite advert is:
“Not happy, Jan!” Australia’s most iconic ad (even if it wasn’t enough to save Yellow Pages).
What’s your personal motto?
Fake it till you make it…and when in doubt, peace and pout.
I got into adtech because:
I was tossing up between staying in my tech consulting job or trying to get into media/advertising. Ad tech was the perfect way to do both!
If I wasn't doing this for a living, I'd be:
Travelling the world, writing a bad memoir, running out of money, and applying for a job in adtech.
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