Jo is Head of Investment at MI Media, She has been in the industry for over 30 years, working at a number of larger network agencies before transitioning to independents more recently. She has held a variety of strategic and senior roles including heading up the planning & buying team at Ad City, which operated as a small business within Havas.
Who is your digital hero?
My digital hero is Jane Wolfson, President UK and International at Captify.
What has she done to win hero status in your eyes?
I have known Jane for a long time, she has always been a kind person, who gives up her time and energy to a lot of people. Of course like a lot of us, she started in media at a time when offline channels were mainstream (ie print).
Negotiating deals was about using your personality (and a lot of background knowledge) to get the best deal, knowing a lot of people and always being professional ie developing business acumen and business etiquette. She has that in spades.
But not only that, her thirst for knowledge and learning has got her to where she is now. Curiosity and kindness. Absolutely brilliant traits to have. She raises money for charity – Chairing the Childline Ball just last week and raising £500k and is a trustee for a cancer charity.
How has their heroism helped drive digital?
Jane was responsible for leading the digital transformation at traditional publisher Hearst when she joined them from Initiative and has since gone on to lead the commercial efforts at Captify, a digital business that leads in the onsite search space.
She has helps drive digital just by the way she does business, helping clients to navigate and break down the complex and making it relevant to their business requirements. She drives partnerships, understands agency needs, and breaks down barriers. And she always delivers whilst giving a shit about everything.
What the biggest challenges in digital we need another hero to solve?
A few challenges here – how to effectively reach consumers without compromising on brand safety/privacy and the receptiveness to them of those messages. And of course with AI becoming part of everyday lives, harnessing AI and embracing it in organisations to drive growth and efficiency. That does sound a bit like marketing speak though.
But another challenge that is more human and is actually happening – If you search for digital heroes, a lot of companies come up that are helping others upskill in digital. Those companies either helping severely vulnerable or refugee communities in the case of Lambeth Digital Heroes or the Heritage Trust Network who connect 18-30 year olds with digital skills with heritage organisations across the UK to help them transform their digital offering.
These companies and many more are the actual Digital Heroes.
What is your most heroic personal achievement so far in digital? (I don’t really have a digital personal achievement) (don’t write that)
I started my career in the 80’s working at Saatchi and Saatchi. It was a real baptism of fire, you had to develop a thick skin and a can do attitude. 38 years later I am still here. That is probably a personal achievement.
I am proud of leading Adcity several years ago, creating a small company within a large Global company (Havas), winning awards and leading a new company. And latterly at MI, working at a smaller company means that you get involved in everything digital, commercial, people, new business and the running of the company. I make a difference to the company and to people. I am proud of that.
I feel that I have had a new lease of life as an older person in media, you always need to be curious and ensure that you add value through knowledge and experience.
The things that I am proud of largely revolve around helping people, more recently, I am proud of being part of Women in Trading, working alongside a group of hardworking and clever women to create something with the media industry that is needed.
