INMA's Young Professionals Initiative was set up to look at how to engage under-30 rising stars to help them elevate the news media, guide the INMA community and bring new life and energy to an industry undergoing transformation, says the INMA. 

The Young Professionals Initiative is spearheaded by the Young Professionals Committee with seven members from around the world, adds the INMA.

Members of the association's Young Professionals Committee reviewed applications and voted on five award recipients in six categories. 

According to the INMA, the six categories comprise:

  • Advertising
  • Data
  • Editorial
  • Reader Revenue
  • Leadership, and
  • Product.

The INMA says that judges selected qualifying candidates who are under the age of 30, employed by a news media company, big picture thinkers with an ability to shape the news media industry and demonstrated expertise, accomplishments and soft skills that make a great leader, says the INMA.

Beyond global recognition, the INMA says that 30 Under 30 Awards recipients receive: 

  • membership to INMA for one year
  • free access to two INMA Master Classes, and
  • a complimentary ticket to INMA's Media Innovation Week.

30 Under 30 Awards Winners

According to the INMA, the winners in each of the six categories are:

Advertising

  • Marcus Billingham-Yuen, client strategy manager, News Corp Australia, Australia
  • Jubaer Bin Latif, senior brand specialist, The Daily Star, Bangladesh
  • Ahmed Saleh Michika, content writer, Tudun Tsira, Nigeria
  • Thorge Schramm, senior social media and product manager, Nordwest Mediengruppe, Germany, and
  • Teodora (Teddy) Tepavicharova, director / programmatic strategy, Condé Nast, the United Kingdom. 

Data

  • Kevin Cheberenchick, senior insights manager, Bloomberg, the United States
  • Vadim Radinsky, director / product, analytics, data science, MediaNews Group, the United States
  • Ankit Kumar Roy, lead data scientist, HT Media, India
  • Andrea Skeith, senior data analyst, Gannett, the United States, and
  • Leslie Wong, assistant manager / data, South China Morning Post, Hong Kong.

Leadership

  • Tamara Bajcic, executive manager / CEO, Demostat Research & Publishing Center, the United States
  • Sanket Jain, journalist, freelance, India
  • Saher Merchant, audience development director, The Dallas Morning News, the United States
  • Kinya Nina, author / radio host, Sound Mental Health, Kenya, and
  • Anastasia Rudenko, CEO / editor-in-chief / media manager, Rubryka Recover Window Media Network, Eastern Variant, Ukraine. 

Editorial

  • Eden Benibo, founder / editorial director, Hello Icon Magazine, Nigeria
  • Aaron Dahmen, senior journalist / producer, Stuff, New Zealand
  • Kathleen Farmilo, social media producer, SBS News, Australia
  • Ryo Namiki, journalist, Nikkei, Japan, and
  • Mohammad Abdullah Al Noman, editor-in-chief / CEO, Gaznobay, Bangladesh.

Product

  • Madison Flanders, senior project manager, The New York Times, the United States
  • Mikko Kivistö, software developer, Helsingin Sanomat, Finland
  • Catarina Mexia, product manager, Público, Portugal
  • Lea Nowack, PM content development, Tamedia, Switzerland, and
  • Ben Rubinsztein, product manager / web, The Telegraph, United Kingdom.

Reader Revenue

  • Evangeline Braithwaite, performance marketing executive, Financial Times, the United Kingdom
  • Caleb Davidson, marketing manager / growth team, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the United States
  • Adam Frank, senior specialist / lifecycle marketing, The Washington Post, the United States
  • Ana Mendonça, political columnist, Estado de Minas, Brazil, and
  • Jeevanand Sumesh, growth product analyst, The Hindu, India. 

"INMA is proud to elevate these impressive professionals in our fifth class of 30 under 30 honourees," concludes Earl J. Wilkinson, executive director and CEO of INMA. "The world of news media is changing rapidly, and these are the leaders we want at the helm during this transformation."

For more information, visit www.inma.org. You can also follow the INMA on Facebook, LinkedIn, or on X. 

*Image courtesy of contributor