AUCKLAND, Today: Comms Council industry support group First Five Rungs has advised that current chair Harriette Hanson will be stepping down to pursue a career overseas. Fuse content & social media director Jed Misa will be taking up the role as group chair.
Hanson (formerly with J Walter Thompson) has been with the group for nearly five years and during that time she’s lead the group through many successes, most recently refreshing and updating the FFR guide book, a massive undertaking.
Comms Council industry development director Marlen Smith said: “Along with a fantastic team, Harriette has helped orchestrate a number of initiatives for the FFR team notably the Leadership Development Day and the launch of Yarns with… video series on Facebook.
“Jed will no doubt do a superb job of leading the team through its next chapter.
“Harriette has spearheaded a number of projects during her time as chair, including the Leadership Development Day, support of a research project around talent retention, increasing the group presence on social media and supporting the formation of the First Five Rungs in the Capital.”
“It’s been a privilege to lead and work alongside this group.”
Harriette Hanson said: “The First Five Rungs is a talented group of individuals who come together as a strong team with a common goal of supporting young people in the comms industry. It’s been a privilege to lead and work alongside this group.”
Jed Misa says he’s looking forward to leading the group through its next phase: “I’m excited to see what we can bring to the industry this year,” he said. “We’ve been working through some compelling initiatives that we hope will make a positive impact on agencies around NZ.”
About First Five Rungs
The Comms Council Young Leadership Group was formed in 2012 and has since developed into a team who run First Five Rungs, which is a support group for people in the first five years of their communications and advertising career. With Comms Council Industry Development Manager Marlen Smith at the helm, the First Five Rungs team identified an essential need; that new talent needs to be supported to ‘future proof’ our industry. To this end, they created a guide/help booklet and selected support products that would be part of an essential Newbies Welcome Pack. The purpose of this pack is to connect and support those entering the communications industry and to reassure them that they are not alone. First Five Rungs also run events and provide support online to their community of thousands.
The First Five Rungs Team
Jed Misa (Chair), Bonnie Shum (Deputy Chair), Abel Banda, Lloyd Thomason, Holly Eden, Sarskia Melville, Scarlett Sneddon, Shreta Mala, Marlen Smith (Comms Council).
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