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The British Media Awards, powered by Campaign, took place on 16 May 2018 at the Hilton on London’s Park Lane. The event
Earlier this month WNIP caught up with Emily West, Team Lead, Operations Engineering at Sovrn – which helps more than 25,000 independent online publishers succeed by giving content creators tools and services to make money – who won the ‘rising star’ category at this year’s awards.
What did you accomplish in order to win the ‘rising star’ category at The British Media Awards earlier this year?
“I joined Sovrn straight from university two years ago, and have since been promoted twice. As well as being young, with no prior experience in adtech, I was also the first female employee at the company. I was put forward for the award because of the work I have been doing bridging the gap between the Operations and Engineering Teams. I often liaise with publishers, and work with them to solve their issues, such as bad ads which have been served by vendors, for example.”
Describe your role at Sovrn?
“I am currently progressing into a new role with the product team, deciding what products we will be building and how to prioritise them. I then communicate these decisions to the rest of the company and explain what we have built, and why. I am also in charge of sourcing feedback from the market and sales teams to make sure what we are building is relevant to the market.
“I was previously in a more technical operational role, where I did a lot of troubleshooting, working very closely with publishers to make sure our tech is implemented properly onto their page. That also meant working closely with the engineering team to take care of any bugs that arose. In my new role, I am now doing aspects from both of these roles.”
How do you feel working in a male dominated industry?
“To be honest, I don’t really think about this too much – mainly because I don’t believe I’ve ever been treated differently for being a (young) woman, despite being the first female hired by the company. There are now many more women in the company, which I am pleased with, but I do find it empowering to be part of the frequently male-dominated meetings, mainly because I am the youngest in the room, as well as the only woman.
“Moreover, I was excited to find myself shortlisted for the rising star award alongside so many other women. I hope this is a sign that more women are carving a career for themselves in the ad tech industry.”
What do you see as being some of the biggest problems with programmatic?
“Transparency is the big word this year, and despite the industry’s efforts to improve this in programmatic advertising, I still think there is a long way to go. The complexity of programmatic makes it too easy for tech companies to take advantage, and it is important that we continue to ensure all ad tech companies are disclosing their practices, being open and honest, and all playing to the same rules.”
What do you envision for the future of your industry?
“In the ad tech industry, there are many opportunities to get involved with the latest technological advances. I’m particularly looking forward to seeing how blockchain will be utilised in the future. Publishers are already testing blockchain as a
