SA's Siyavuya Mzantsi, Africa grand prize winner at Inma's "30 Under 30" awards

Cape Times editor Siyavuya Mzantsi.

The “30 Under 30 Awards” competition is part of Inma’s Young Professionals Initiative and received 163 applications in July and August.

Members of the association’s Young Professionals Committee and the governing Inma Board of Directors reviewed applications and voted on six winners in five categories: Advertising, Audience, Business Intelligence, Content + Product, and Leadership.

Within the list of 30 winners, six overall “grand prize” winners from six regions were selected.

Criteria for selection included being under 30 years of age, early-career achievements, insights into innovation, ability to influence, and likely management skills.

Winners in each of the five categories, coming from 20 countries, are:

Advertising

• Maggie Campbell, account director, NZME, New Zealand
• Lina Hebert, performance marketing manager, Consumer Revenue, Condé Nast, United States
• Weijun (Jenny) Lu, account manager, Marketing Solutions, South China Morning Post, Hong Kong
• Simone Mainprize, group digital manager, News Corp Australia
• Sade Muhammad, director, Representation and Inclusion Partnerships, Forbes, United States
• Erin Rettew, digital sales manager, LNP Media Group, United States

Audience

• Lovisa Bergström, data scientist and team lead for Analytics Team, Dagens Nyheter, Sweden
• Lily Cloake, marketing director, Wall Street Journal/Dow Jones, United States
• Ronan Doyle, acquisition & lifecycle manager, Independent News & Media, Ireland
• Taneth Evans, head of audience development, The Times and Sunday Times, United Kingdom
• Mansi Panchamia, marketing manager, Corporate Marketing and Strategy, Mid-Day Infomedia, India
• Naomi Wills, customer success manager, Business Insider, United States

Business Intelligence

• Shotaro Ishihara, data scientist, Nikkei, Japan
• Kartikay Khosla, deputy manager, Jagran New Media, India
• Stephanie Lievano, business development manager, Corporación La Prensa, Panama
• Arthur Rückert, head of data and strategic planning, Grupo RBS, Brazil
• Virginia Stagni, business development manager and FT Talent director, Financial Times, United Kingdom
• Robert Tidball, head of data, Australian Community Media, Australia

Content + Product

• Utkarsh Arora, group product manager, The Economic Times, India
• Mara Corbett, creative operations director, Gannett, United States
• Jostein Larsen Østring, vice president Development, Amedia, Norway
• Adar Rahman, sub-editor, Prothom Alo, Bangladesh
• Michael Sommer, project lead Interaktiv, Kleine Zeitung, Austria

Leadership

• Zack Korman, lead architect, Aller Media, Norway
• Siyavuya Mzantsi, editor, Cape Times, Independent Media, South Africa
• Nicholas O’Connor, publisher and chief revenue officer, AméricaEconomía, Chile
• Sophia Phan, deputy digital editor, The Sydney Morning Herald (Nine), Australia
• Taras Prokopyshyn, CEO, The Ukrainians, Ukraine
• Bente Zerrahn, head of Innovation, Axel Springer, Germany

Beyond the recognition, “30 Under 30” awards recipients will receive access to Inma master classes, Inma membership benefits, and more. All 163 applicants have been provided access to an Inma Young Professionals Initiative Slack channel for ideas-sharing and networking.

Grand Prize winners

Within the “30 Under 30 Awards,” judges selected six young professionals as regional Grand Prize winners. They are:

• Africa: Siyavuya Mzantsi, editor, Cape Times, Independent Media, South Africa
• Asia/Pacific: Shotaro Ishihara, data scientist, Nikkei, Japan
• Europe: Virginia Stagni, business development manager and FT talent director, Financial Times, United Kingdom
• Latin America: Arthur Rückert, head of data and strategic planning, Grupo RBS, Brazil
• North America: Mara Corbett, creative operations director, Gannett, United States
• South Asia: Utkarsh Arora, group product manager, The Economic Times, India

“Inma is profoundly proud of this inaugural class of the 30 Under 30 Awards competition,” said Earl J. Wilkinson, executive director and CEO of Inma. “These are future leaders of the news media industry, and Inma is grateful for our Young Professionals Committee and the judges for shining a light on their early career achievements and leadership potential. The judging process was rigorous, and we look forward to tracking the success of all winners and applicants.”

About Siyavuya Mzantsi

Siyavuya launched his journalism career as an intern at Independent Media and has quickly climbed up the ranks since then. Before being named the first Black African editor of the Cape Times in its 143-year history last year, he had shown his versatility as a journalist by serving as a multimedia reporter, content producer, news editor, and assistant editor.

His appointment to editor at the age of 26 also makes him the youngest editor in the news media group and possibly in Africa. He has been recognised for his bold voice, which includes winning the regional Vodacom Journalist of the Year for his work on racial inequalities and the marginalisation of women.

He is dedicated to bringing more Black women into the newsroom while also reaching under-served communities. “The day this publication becomes accessible to children of gardeners and domestic workers, the lowly paid in our society, is the day I would have achieved my goal,” he said.