Here are FIPP’s Rising Stars in Media for 2016

Rising Stars 2016 ()

What’s more, we also have the names of the three overall winners who will be invited to collect their awards at FIPP London, taking place on 10-11 May.

All of the nominees are clearly talented and passionate about their jobs – searching for new ways to develop and progress their brands.

Submissions in 2016 were from a broader range of counties that last year – the List includes people from Australia, Brazil, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, India, Italy, Japan, Poland, Russia, South Africa, Spain, UAE, UK and the USA. As expected, there were several submissions from editorial staff and those with must-have digital expertise, from overarching site managers to very specific roles such as social media managers. This year also saw more entries from the creative sparks in the industry. In short, they reflect the dynamism of magazine media today. 

UPM is the partner of FIPP’s Rising Stars In Media for the second year running, Ruud van den Berg, Senior Vice President for Magazine Publishing and Advertising, who was one of the judges said: “Again, it was impressive to see what young talent in our industry have been able to contribute to their magazine media brands. I’ve been delighted by the scope of the entries and by their enthusiasm, energy and diligence.”

The judges

Barry, McIlheney, CEO, PPA, UK

Charlene Beukes, General Manager, Media24 Lifestyle, Media24 Magazines, South Africa

Chris Llewellyn, President and CEO, FIPP

Henk Scheenstra, CEO Sanoma Media Belgium, Belgium

Ruud van den Berg, Senior Vice President for Magazine Publishing and Advertising, UPM, Germany

Yolanda Ausín Castañeda, General Manager, Asociación de Revistas de Información (ARI), Spain

Rising Stars in Media 2016 (in alphabetical order)

Allie Kircher, Senior Photo Editor, Hearst Magazines, USA

Amy Galvin, Art Director, Hearst Magazines, UK

Ayako Shirashige, Editor-in-Chief, Hearst Fujingaho, Japan

Bea Teehankee, Content Strategy and Insights Manager, BauerWorks – Bauer Media, Australia

Becky Coyne, Social Media Manager, Time Inc. UK

Benedict Ransley, Creative Media Manager, Time Inc. UK

Breton Fischetti, Director, Business Development, Business Insider, USA

Callie Schweitzer, Editorial Director of Audience Strategy, Time and Time Inc. and Editorial Director of Motto, Time Inc., USA

Cristine Kist, Executive Editor, Editora Globo, Brazil

Devnidhi Bajoria, Senior Brand Manager, Worldwide Media, India

Esther Kezia Harding, Digital Editor, Page Lizard, UK

Gabisile Ngcobo, Journalist, Media24, South Africa

Gareth Warren, Deputy Editor – Technology Supplements, Gulf News, Al Nisr Publishing, UAE

Guy Goodwin, Junior Designer, Immediate Media, UK

Jessica Pels, Site Director, Hearst Magazines, USA

Kamilah Gray, Global Media Marketing Manager, Bloomberg, USA

Luana Bescapè, Brand Manager, Hearst Magazines, Italy

Marcus Hall, Senior Interactive Designer, Lovatts Media, Australia

Martyna Wyrzykowska, Managing Editor Glamour.pl, Burda International Poland, Poland

Mieke Vlok, Journalist, Huisgenoot, part of Media24, South Africa

Mimi Thurgood, Online Editor, Associated Media Publishing, South Africa

Natalie Tanbourgi, Sales Executive, Bloomberg, UK

Nikita Poljakov, Chief Economic Editor, Economia, Czech Republic

Rafael Quick, Executive Art Editor, Editora Globo, Brazil

Robert Waidhofer, Media Advisor, Time Inc. UK, UK

Rocio Guille, Community Manager, IDG Communications, Spain

Tine Presterud, Project Manager, First Purple Publishing, Denmark

Vera Lihosherstova, Brand Manager, Hearst Shkulev Medi, Russia

Yan Chen, Senior Project Manager, ELLEFIT, Hearst Magazines, China

Rising Star winners

And of course, the top three – the Rising Star winners who will be at FIPP London in May to experience the event and collect their awards are: Breton Fischetti, Callie Schweitzer and Mieke Vlok, see details on their entries below:

Breton Fischetti, Director, Business Development, Business Insider, USA

Breton has been with Business Insider for over four years and proven himself a strong performer who has continually exceeded expectations. He has worked on a variety of different initiatives including content distribution, social media partnerships, multi-million dollar revenue deals, and International licenses

Most recently he took the lead on Business Insider’s e-commerce initiative. Believing that commerce could be a significant revenue opportunity for the company and a valuable resource for readers, Breton built a comprehensive plan to build commerce into a new business line for the company under the Insider Picks brand.

Breton spent 2015 putting a team in place and building out the program to grow revenue, traffic and reader awareness. The results were that 2015 ended 80 per cent above the revenue targets set at the beginning of

The year and 2016 is already trending to be at least four times greater than 2015.

The judges said: “An all-rounder with an impeccable track record, Breton certainly upped his rainmaking game with this very apt strategy for a digital brand such as Business Insider. What appears to be a no-brainer extension for the brand, is in fact a very cleverly constructed commercial roadmap for continued and sustainable growth all round. A bright young man.”

Callie Schweitzer, Editorial Director of Audience Strategy, Time and Time Inc. and Editorial Director of Motto, Time Inc., USA

Callie identified an opportunity to reach a growing audience segment – a new site aimed at millennial women who are interested in advancing their careers and living more meaningful lives. Callie pitched the idea for Motto because she saw that self-improvement content was some of Time’s most read content, and when she looked deeper at the data it was largely millennial women who were reading it. Her vision for Motto is to provide a global platform for women to feel that their lives are clearly represented; where women can seek advice and also offer advice. Since its launch, it has received rave reviews in the press and has experienced an impressive 3 million uniques in its first month, according to internal data. 

Also in her role as Editorial Director of Audience Strategy for Time Inc. and Time, Callie oversees traffic, audience engagement, social media, search, newsletters, new product initiatives and content partnerships for one of the largest media companies in the world.

The judges said: “Tapping into the current media zeitgeist of marrying data with a gap in the market, with a readily available audience segment, Callie clearly has a very impressive and well-developed sense for business development. This is exciting innovation, of the kind that makes one look forward to the future of media.”

Mieke Vlok, Journalist, Huisgenoot, part of Media24, South Africa

Mieke Vlok is a 24-year-old journalism graduate. In 2014 she started working for Huisgenoot, the biggest magazine in South Africa, as an intern after winning the most-coveted internship post in the country. Hundreds of journalism students from all over the country apply for this post every year.

What makes Mieke special is that already in her first year with the publication she was identified as a future editor in the company. After her internship she was appointed a permanent member of the editorial team. One of her main tasks is assisting the editor. Versatile journalists like her are extremely rare. Despite her great contribution at work she’s also managing to study law part-time. 

She can cover any news story, from investigative journalism to advice stories, and also write exclusive reports. She’s exceptionally intelligent and able to understand any complex subject – and write in such a way that the average reader can understand her articles and benefit from them.

Her ambition is to be a legal adviser at a media publication. This is already within her reach within the foreseeable future.

The judges said: “Mieke is the epitome of what a FIPP Rising Star really should be. She is a young, ambitious individual with a clear goal. She has the confidence to put herself among hundreds of competitors and have the ability to rise to the top. She not only does what the role requires of her, but so much more. And whilst doing all that, she seeks to find ways to develop her skill-set for the future.”

* If you haven’t booked to be at FIPP London yet, do so today where you will not only have a chance to see Bretton, Callie and Mieke collect their awards, but also experience four events in one, over two days.

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