Nine Asia Pacific and south Asia 'rising stars' of news media are among the '30 Under 30' named in INMA's awards scheme with one, Utkarsh Arora, among the six grand prize winners.

Arora, group product manager at India's The Economic Times, is one of six grand prize winners picked from the 163 who applied as part of INMA's Young Professionals Initiative.

Applications in five categories and six regions were reviewed and chosen by a Young Professionals Committee and the INMA board.

Applicants in advertising, audience, business intelligence, content+product, and leadership were judged on their early career achievements, insights into innovation, ability to influence, and likely management skills.

Executive director and chief executive Earl Wilkinson said the association was "profoundly proud" of the inaugural class: "These are future leaders of the news media industry. The judging process was rigorous, and we look forward to tracking the success of all winners and applicants."

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, USA; and

Erin Rettew, Digital Sales Manager, LNP Media Group, USA.

Audience

Lovisa Bergström, Data Scientist and Team Lead for Analytics Team, Dagens Nyheter, Sweden;

Lily Cloake, Marketing Director, Wall Street Journal/Dow Jones, USA;

Ronan Doyle, Acquisition & Lifecycle Manager, Independent News & Media, Ireland;

Taneth Evans, Head of Audience Development, The Times and Sunday Times, UK;

Mansi Panchamia, Marketing Manager, Corporate Marketing and Strategy, Mid-Day Infomedia, India; and

Naomi Wills, Customer Success Manager, Business Insider, USA.

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, UK; and

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, USA;

Jostein Larsen Østring, Vice President Development, Amedia, Norway;

Adar Rahman, Sub-Editor, Prothom Alo, Bangladesh; and

Michael Sommer, Project Lead Interaktiv, Kleine Zeitung , Austria.

Leadership

Zack Korman, Lead Architect, Aller Media, Norway;

Siyavuya Mzantsi, Editor, 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; and

Bente Zerrahn, Head of Innovation, Axel Springer, Germany.

Beyond the recognition, '30 Under 30' awards recipients will receive access to INMA master classes and INMA membership benefits. 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, Independent Media, South Africa;

Asia/Pacific: Shotaro Ishihara, Data Scientist, Nikkei, Japan;

Europe: Virginia Stagni, Business Development Manager and FT Talent Director, Financial Times, UK;

Latin America: Arthur Rückert, Head of Data and Strategic Planning, Grupo RBS, Brazil;

North America: Mara Corbett, Creative Operations Director, Gannett, USA; and

South Asia: Utkarsh Arora, Group Product Manager, The Economic Times, India.