Shirley Smith is VP Sales EMEA at Flashtalking by Mediaocean. We asked who her digital hero is.
Who is your digital hero?
Celine Saturnino, Chief Operating Officer, Total Media.
What has she done to win hero status in your eyes?
Celine is my digital hero for so many reasons. I’ve known her for almost 20 years, we met when we both started our media careers at I Level. Since then, I have loved watching her career progress over the years.
How has her heroism helped drive digital?
Celine is one of the most inspiring, calm, and respected female leaders in our industry.
She always leads from the front and is never afraid to get stuck in. She is empathetic to all of her team, partners, and clients, people trust and love working with Celine.
Overall, Celine’s passion for our industry, innovation and her willingness to help others have made her an inspiring figure in the field.
How has their heroism helped drive digital?
She is at the forefront of championing young new talent and is a mentor to many inspiring leaders throughout the industry. What sets Celine apart is her commitment to sharing her knowledge and helping others succeed.
What are the biggest challenges in digital we need another hero to solve?
The biggest challenge we need to solve as an industry is helping fight climate change.
Initiatives like carbon offsetting are a start, but we need to do a lot more. There are many ways advertising can impact the planet and we need to double down on quality over quantity. It won’t be a hero that solves it though, it will be a collective effort and difficult choices by all of us.
What is your most heroic personal achievement so far in digital?
Watching so many people whom I helped start their careers in digital and seeing how far they have progressed in our industry in such a short amount of time. It makes me feel very proud.
