Renata (Nata) Yannoulis
Senior Strategic Planner at TBWA\Australia
Renata’s career has spanned PR, content, social-digital management, brand and strategy disciplines. She is currently a Senior Strategist across the TBWA\Sydney group. She has led the strategic thinking across education, FMCG, retail, tech and fashion categories.
In 2021, Renata became a founding member of the ACA Diversity and Inclusion Committee, where she played a pivotal role in rolling out the Create Space brand, research and findings.
Career & Background
What inspired you to do what you are doing now?
The talented people around me! Working with amazing planners and creatives on projects — it opened my eyes. I was blown away by their thinking, and the impact they were able to make across the work. Exposure to this fantastic talent and encouragement from peers I respected made all the difference in having the confidence to try something new and go after what I wanted.
Could you tell us a bit about your professional background?
I started out in PR. Switched lanes pretty quickly into social media management and content. And then fell in love with Brand Strategy four years ago. I’m coming up to nine years in the industry, still enjoying leading accounts, winning new business, helping mould the team members around me, and fighting the good fight for D&I.
What drives and inspires you
What are your core values?
- Compassion
- Humour
- Integrity
Who is your biggest inspiration and why?
Most recently, I was really inspired by what Anouk Jans did with her documentary, Kill Your Darlings last year. It was a sobering look at our industry at large, yet somehow I was left inspired to double down and go bigger than ever. I related a lot to her personal journey. Launching it at Cannes in conjunction with her new indie agency was another stroke of genius in terms of PR and branding.
Your favourite food for thought
Books
- Women Talk Money, by Rebecca Walker (because money is gendered, and it’s important!)
- The Subtle Art of not Giving a F*ck, Mark Manson (for a dose of reality)
- Atomic Habits, James Clear (change for good can start small)
Podcasts / Thought Leaders
- You’re Wrong About — Sarah Marshall
- If Books Could Kill — Michael Hobbs and Peter Shamshiri
- Sweet Bobby — Tortoise Media
You as a Mentor
Why have you decided to become a mentor?
As someone that never really saw someone with a similar background in a powerful position when first starting out, I recognise there is work to be done in terms of supporting diverse new talent. More broadly, women are still statistically less likely to be sitting in Senior Leadership positions compared to men. I believe we all have a role to play to help change the statistics and improve people’s experiences in our industry.
What are the top skills or qualities you bring to mentoring?
- Collaborative
- Empathic
- Great listener
- Non-judgemental
- Open
Ready to apply?
The best time is right now. Take a chance – you never know where an Assisterhood mentor can take you.