Anathea Ruys is a seasoned CEO with over 25 years of leadership experience spanning Australia, New Zealand, the USA, and the Asia Pacific. As the CEO of UM Australia, her career is marked by a strong commitment to bridging the gap between brands and consumers to foster substantial business growth.

Committed to inclusivity, she actively supports LGBTQIA+ initiatives and serves as a Pillar Lead for the UN Women’s Unstereotype Alliance, solidifying her reputation as a leader dedicated to fostering inclusive environments.

With such a busy job, free time is surely impossible to find. Still, Ruys found some time to sit down with Sparrow and answer 10 very fast questions on her career, leadership growth and balancing her dedication to causes with her other commitments.

1. UM is a great agency. How would you describe it today in a headline? 

If it was literally a headline I would say “UM sees media in full colour not black and white”. If I had a paragraph I would say “Rather than focusing on black and white singular metrics and individual marketing theory, UM delivers a full colour media solution for brands helping them grow as we move from the digital and data era to an era of intelligence.”

2. You have such a diverse background, from Editor of New Idea to APAC regional and USA agency roles. How have you adapted and grown as a leader? 

I have always loved working with people and helping them achieve great things. It’s been an incredible privilege to work with amazing people in so many different markets. Each experience has helped me to grow as a person and a leader. A very early experience in my leadership journey really shaped me. I left a meeting expecting to be praised by my boss for how well it went – but it went the opposite way! I had spoken about the successes of our business in a very individual way and she pointed out that there was no success without every single member of the team. That shaped me and has stayed with me ever since as a core tenet of my leadership style.

3. You champion many causes around your people & the Unstereotype Alliance. How do you prioritise your commitments? 

I have always felt one of the best things I can do for the causes I believe in, is to be a connector and bring others into the conversation. Whether that is as potential sponsors or donors, people who can platform the cause and ensure it is shared widely, or people who will be positively impacted by their interaction I love taking the opportunity to widen the conversation!

4. I know your passion for our industry; however, if you could change one thing for the future, what would that be? 

I think we have the opportunity to be a much more diverse and inclusive industry and we will become better for it. All industries are stronger when they are more reflective of society – there’s different thought and opinion, voices that have not been heard, and challenges to the status quo. MFA data shows us we under index compared to the population for employing people with disability and indigenous Australians as two examples. I’m excited for the different approaches we are taking across the industry to make change in this way and the contribution UM and IPG Mediabrands will make.

5. As an industry, are we doing enough to retain experienced, wise talent & working parents? 

I love the conversations that have started becoming louder over the last couple of years with industry advocacy and support groups like The Village. I genuinely believe this is an industry that can allow you to thrive as a parent and as a media professional but historically there were too many assumptions that it couldn’t work. I advocate loudly for parents-to-be, parents – and in fact everyone – to be open and transparent with their managers and leaders about what they are able to lean into at this time in their careers and lives. There are so many seasons over a career and some might involve not being able to participate in areas like pitching and extensive training. Other seasons might be a time when someone wants to lean in and take on all the opportunities they can. Neither is a binary right or wrong. But without conversation and transparency there are often expectations on both sides that won’t be met.

6. UM has a great client list such as Fed Gov, Tourism Aust, AMEX , Kmart etc. What’s some current work you are most proud of? 

I love the behaviour change work we do for the Australian Government. One of my favourite pieces of work is the Be That Teacher campaign. As someone who remembers specific teachers who influenced my life deeply, it really resonates and I know it encourages teachers to be proud of the influence they have. I was also so impressed by the thinking behind the groundbreaking screens strategy we implemented for Kmart. I love work that delivers outcomes!

7. How are your clients addressing the current economic headwinds?  

This is a really challenging, albeit interesting time for many marketers. I am pleased to see many marketers having really elevated conversations about the value and need for marketing investment backed up by strong measurement and data.

8. Do you have a mentor or coach who has been influential in your career development?

I’ve worked with some amazing people over my career who have taught me so much – many of whom have become great friends. One of those is Louise Bond who founded the agency that became PHD in New Zealand. She is the best leader I have ever worked with and is – in my opinion – the reason that agency is one of the best in the world. 

9. Can you share with us something that’s not on your LinkedIn profile? 

Just about everything! I’m terrible at nurturing my LinkedIn profile. I am trying hard to be more active but the struggle is real! 

10. Do your parents really know what you do? 

My mum has a pretty good idea but I’m a strange and unusual being for my dad. He lives in the centre of Australia where he’s created an incredible community garden out of the red dirt. He thinks my life is a crazy whirlwind and just chuckles and shakes his head! 

Written by Greg Graham, published on B&T 23rd July 2024