Young Gun profiles takes a look at the young talent across the Australian advertising, adtech, marketing and media sector. Aiming to shed light on the varying roles, people and companies across the buzzing industry.
Ervin Poernama: senior data and growth specialist at Sparro
Time in current role/time at company:
I've been in my current role for six months now and have been at Sparro for three years.
How long have you been in the industry?
It's my fourth year working in the world of marketing.
How did you get here? Was this always the plan?
Marketing was never really in my plans.
My goal used to be to work in the finance sector. I studied Accounting for my Bachelor's degree at Monash University in Malaysia, then came to Sydney to pursue my Master’s in Finance & Risk Management at UNSW.
Right before I moved to Sydney, I had the opportunity to do an internship at one of the biggest FMCG companies in Jakarta, Indonesia. It introduced me to marketing and brand management and I fell in love with both straight away.
Who is your right-hand person? Who guides you day to day?
There are so many incredible people here at Sparro. I've been fortunate enough to work with some of the best minds in digital marketing today: Jack Corley, Sarah Arvela, Kristine Marinkovic, Felicia Charman, Aurelia Harjono, Sparro’s entire data team, and many others.
What’s the best thing about the industry you work in?
It's a very fast-paced industry that's always rapidly evolving, which means there's always room to grow. Every day there’s a new platform coming out, more data to play with, and new world-changing technological developments in machine learning and AI.
And what is the biggest challenge?
Constant evolution means that you need to adapt to new environments very quickly. If you want to work in digital marketing, you need to be a fast fast learner.
Whose job have you set your sights on for the future? Why are you drawn to that job?
I'm a fan of Oatly's CEO, Toni Petersson. I’d love a similar opportunity to make radical changes to a company, guide a rebrand and make changes so powerful they influence an entire industry. It takes a lot of courage and creativity but seems rewarding and fun.
Where do you turn for inspiration?
Books. This quote from René Descartes captures how I feel about reading:
"Reading good books is like engaging in conversation with the most cultivated minds of past centuries who had composed them, or rather, taking part in a well-conducted dialogue in which such minds reveal to us only the best of their thoughts.'
However, most of my best ideas come to me in the shower.
Tell us one thing people at work don’t know about you:
I love aimlessly wandering grocery stores at night. It makes me feel at peace.
In five years' time, I'll be:
Creating a digital version of myself so I can focus on other things…just kidding!
I love learning how to leverage data and machine intelligence to make better decisions for customers — so maybe an AI version of myself can help me make some good ones too!
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