Kallana Warner, SVP and client business partner, UM

As a member of UM’s new business team, Warner has helped the media network secure big-name clients like Spotify and Emirates.

And as global lead of UM’s Accenture account, she helped grow the consulting giant’s business during the pandemic by increasing its ad budget, rolling out a new media plan in October 2020, and moving ad dollars from traditional broadcast channels into more precise digital channels.

As a result, Accenture’s revenue was up over 20% in May 2021, with 20% of the contribution coming from advertising, according to media mix modelling studies. Warner’s strategies were so successful, UM will use them as a blueprint for an upcoming service that will be available to B2B clients including Avanade and Emirates.

“Kallana drives change through sheer willpower and inspires those around her to be better every day,” said Scott Suky, Warner’s manager and EVP and global managing partner at UM. “Without taking Covid-19 into consideration, this would have been a phenomenal performance year for her. Add in the pandemic, and everything that came with it, and what she accomplished was unbelievably amazing.”

Outside of work, she’s​ also a member of the 4A’s Antiracism Task Force and serves as a mentor for the 4A’s Multicultural Advertising Intern Program (MAIP).

Alana Whitaker, VP, partner audience engine, UM

Whitaker built and currently leads the Diversity, Equity and Belonging program at J3, UM’s dedicated business unit for Johnson & Johnson.

A core tenet of the program is an employee rotation program where J3 staffers can embed with Johnson & Johnson’s marketing team and vice versa, as a way to receive mentorship and grow in their careers.

Whitaker also developed a virtual internship program that recruits exclusively from historically black colleges and universities to diversify the talent pipeline and remove barriers to entry for the underrepresented by providing exclusive access to resources, training and real-world experience to BIPOC students.

Her work has moved the needle on diverse leadership at J3, which increased from 1% to 14% year-over-year.

“In 2021, we challenged our agencies and media partners to join us in fighting systemic racism by increasing diverse representation in marketing both in the workplace and in the marketplace,” said Nate Notwell, head of J&J’s North America consumer experience organization. “Alana has turned that commitment into action that is driving real change in our industry.”

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