Yahoo’s talent building program Yahoo Academy is opening its doors for nominations, with 40 lucky participants set to get a masterclass in future-proofing your career from creative strategists Rosie and Faris Yakob of Genius Steals.
With AI and other emergent technologies already changing job roles and skills-needs across the industry this year’s Academy program will focus on giving the 40 participants from across Australia and Singapore the tools they need to navigate their future. It will culminate in a one-day workshop in Sydney led by the Genius Steals founders.
John McNerney, Managing Director of Yahoo AUSEA, says Yahoo Academy 2023 “will be their biggest and most compelling program yet.”
“Yahoo Academy is the original and best talent development program in the Aussie industry with a reputation for nurturing the leaders of the future, and I’m so excited to be bringing participants from Singapore to Sydney to benefit from this expertise for the first time. By arming these rising stars with new skills and ways of thinking we’re helping all of our agency partners to adapt and thrive,” McNerney said.
“With so much happening in the world we’re thrilled to have two incredible practitioners in Rosie and Faris joining us to lead what will be a true masterclass in every sense of the word,” McNerney said.
The day will culminate with a group pitch-off competition, with the winners rewarded with a seven-day trip to a global conference in Sydney in October.
In addition, all Yahoo Academy participants will receive a Delegate pass to Advertising Week APAC on August 1 and 2, providing an exceptional three-day experience to fuel growth, shape the future, and make a mark in the industry.
The full-day workshop will be curated and led by Rosie and Faris Yakob, a husband-and-wife team who run the nomadic strategic and creative consultancy, Genius Steals. They work with brands like Coca-Cola, Twinings and Activision, helping them refresh their thinking, ignite innovation and improve their marketing outcomes.
Together they also write Strands of Genius, a global newsletter for the creative marketing community, and was named by HubSpot as one of the ‘7 Essential Reads for the Curious Creative’.
“No-one knows exactly what the future holds, but one thing that is certain is that anything that can be automated will eventually be automated. As AI becomes an increasingly hot topic in the industry and beyond, we believe that the best way to future-proof agencies and careers is to focus on uniquely human attributes, namely creativity and collaboration,”
Rosie and Faris Yakob of Genius Steals said.
“We believe that workshops, as with all kinds of work, won’t be any good if they aren’t any fun – so we’re really excited to partner with Yahoo to help inspire this group of rising stars, and equip them with the tools and vision to lead our industry into a future we can all get excited about,” they said.
Applicants must have 1-7 years’ experience and may self-nominate with senior endorsement, or senior leadership may directly nominate talent. If you are a driven, visionary professional ready to elevate your career, this is your moment to shine.
Nominations close on Friday June 23.
