What do you get when you invite six of ad land’s most powerful women into a room to talk candidly about what it means to be a woman in the industry?

It might sound like the start of a riddle. After all, coordinating the diaries of six CEOs and senior leaders is no small feat.

Amazingly, Mediaweek managed to do just that.

In the aftermath of International Women’s Day, the Newsmakers podcast brought together a group of Omnicom’s most influential female leaders for an unfiltered conversation about leadership, change and the realities of navigating advertising’s power corridors.

The line-up includes Laura Nice, CEO of PHD; Jo McAlister, CEO of Initiative; Liz Wigmore, Managing Director of Hearts & Science; Sian Whitnall, CEO of OMD; Sue Squillace, CEO Mediahub; and Stevie Douglas-Neill, CEO of UM.

What do you get when you invite six of ad land&rsquo;s most powerful women into a room to talk candidly about what it means to be a woman in the industry?
It might sound like the start of a riddle. After all, coordinating the diaries of six CEOs and senior leaders is no small feat.
Amazingly, Mediaweek managed to do just that.
In the aftermath of International Women&rsquo;s Day, the Newsmakers podcast brought together a group of Omnicom&rsquo;s most influential female leaders for an unfiltered conversation about leadership, change and the realities of navigating advertising&rsquo;s power corridors.
The line-up includes Laura Nice, CEO of PHD; Jo McAlister, CEO of Initiative; Liz Wigmore, Managing Director of Hearts &amp; Science; Sian Whitnall, CEO of OMD; Sue Squillace, CEO Mediahub; and Stevie Douglas-Neill, CEO of UM.

Mediaweek Podcasts deliver insider access to Australia’s media industry. From exclusive interviews with top execs and talent, to sharp analysis of trends shaping media, marketing and advertising.

Mediaweek Podcasts deliver insider access to Australia&rsquo;s media industry. From exclusive interviews with top execs and talent, to sharp analysis of trends shaping media, marketing and advertising.

Mediaweek

Mediaweek Australia

Mediaweek Newsmakers: The female leaders of Omnicom

Mediaweek and Mumbrella have spent years covering Australia’s media industry while becoming one of its juiciest stories.

The latest argy-bargy centres on Vinyl Media's plans to use AI to dramatically scale its publishing output. The debate has since come down to AI publishing and, somehow, the word “bombastic”.

So, naturally, we put the two men at the centre of it in the same room.

Vinyl Group CEO Josh Simons and Mumbrella publisher Tim Burrowes sat down at Mumbrella HQ in Sydney to discuss their public clash, the role AI could play in journalism and the difficult business of making publishing pay.

The conversation is frank, occasionally fiery and surprisingly civil. No furniture was harmed.

Think of it as a media peace summit, with microphones.

Mediaweek and Mumbrella have spent years covering Australia&rsquo;s media industry while becoming one of its juiciest stories.
The latest argy-bargy centres on Vinyl Media's plans to use AI to dramatically scale its publishing output. The debate has since come down to AI publishing and, somehow, the word &ldquo;bombastic&rdquo;.
So, naturally, we put the two men at the centre of it in the same room.
Vinyl Group CEO Josh Simons and Mumbrella publisher Tim Burrowes sat down at Mumbrella HQ in Sydney to discuss their public clash, the role AI could play in journalism and the difficult business of making publishing pay.
The conversation is frank, occasionally fiery and surprisingly civil. No furniture was harmed.
Think of it as a media peace summit, with microphones.

Josh Simons and Tim Burrowes 2026

You probably know Matty Fahd from the Gogglebox couch. But before he was critiquing TV for a living, he spent 18 years working behind the scenes in media, from the agency trenches to helping build TikTok Australia.

Then he did something many of us have probably fantasised about: he walked away from the corporate gig.

With Gogglebox Australia back for a new season, Matty joins me on Newsmakers to talk TikTok, taking the gamble on becoming a full-time creator, and why leaving the job he always wanted ultimately gave him something much more valuable: time with his family.

You probably know Matty Fahd from the Gogglebox couch. But before he was critiquing TV for a living, he spent 18 years working behind the scenes in media, from the agency trenches to helping build TikTok Australia.
Then he did something many of us have probably fantasised about: he walked away from the corporate gig.
With Gogglebox Australia back for a new season, Matty joins me on Newsmakers to talk TikTok, taking the gamble on becoming a full-time creator, and why leaving the job he always wanted ultimately gave him something much more valuable: time with his family.

Mediaweek Newsmakers - Gogglebox's Matt Fahd 

Google gets the click. Meta gets the conversion. But did either of them actually create the demand?

New research from SCA and Seven suggests that by the time a consumer searches, clicks, or buys, much of the hard work is already done.

The research looked at almost $73 million in media investment and more than 615,000 customer outcomes, and raises some big questions about how marketers measure what’s actually working.

On this episode of Mediaweek Newsmakers, I’m joined by SCA’s Olly Newton and Kim Loasby to talk attribution, what consumers say versus what they actually do, and why performance marketing can’t work without brand building behind it.

Read more here: https://www.mediaweek.com.au/sca-seven-attribution-research-newton-loasby

Google gets the click. Meta gets the conversion. But did either of them actually create the demand?
New research from SCA and Seven suggests that by the time a consumer searches, clicks, or buys, much of the hard work is already done.
The research looked at almost $73 million in media investment and more than 615,000 customer outcomes, and raises some big questions about how marketers measure what&rsquo;s actually working.
On this episode of Mediaweek Newsmakers, I&rsquo;m joined by SCA&rsquo;s Olly Newton and Kim Loasby to talk attribution, what consumers say versus what they actually do, and why performance marketing can&rsquo;t work without brand building behind it.
Read more here: <a href="https://www.mediaweek.com.au/sca-seven-attribution-research-newton-loasby">https://www.mediaweek.com.au/sca-seven-attribution-research-newton-loasby</a>

Mediaweek Newsmakers: The female leaders of Omnicom

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