PHD Sydney head of strategy Mitchell Long has been named AdNews Emerging Leader of 2020.
Long was crowned the winner last night at special event hosted by AdNews to celebrate the Top 20 Emerging Leaders of 2020.
Long says he is both humbled and grateful to receive the honour. During his speech, he shared some advice to other future and emerging leaders.
“A lot of the things they tell us about are that we should really understand our values and our purpose. You don’t learn that in a traditional schooling system. It is often later in life that we come to reflect and think deeply about a lot of those things,” he said.
“My advice to anyone would be really think about introspection and who you are and what motivates you and what gets you going. Keep doing what you’re doing and work with really good people.”
Long began his career with PHD as an intern. Eight years on he’s now the youngest ever head of strategy in the history of PHD’s global network.
Since stepping up into the role, his entry says he has transitioned from a “brilliant individual contributor, to an agency leader who inspires respect from within his team and across the agency”.
Long also previously represented the agency on the MFA’s NGEN committee and currently co-chairs the Sydney Chapter of Omnicom’s Open Pride.
He also had Google requesting him as the Australian lead in their global strategy team for the launch of several of its products.
The judges said: “Mitchell is definitely one to watch. His nomination shows he is both resilient and dedicated to his role. He has the ability to influence the business internally and is successful with clients.”
Long will receive an executive coaching program of eight coaching sessions from The Transition Coach, with an opportunity to work on their professional goals and leadership development.
AdNews would like to congratulate all 20 Emerging Leaders. Each person has demonstrated great leadership in their role and have made excellent contributions to the industry in their careers so far.
Article originally published on AdNews.com.au