Fifty – even thirty – years ago, a woman in a senior role in business was an oddity. And a mother in the workplace – well, all hail to her tenacity and huge kudos to the people she could rely on as resources. That past is over. But women still have a way to go. So, until there is no longer a need to highlight powerhouse women. Until the pervasive stereotypes, gender pay gap, unequal parenting…the idea that women are less than…disappear. Until a person’s sex doesn’t affect their choices or their standing, let’s make sure that International Women’s Day continues to its job.
So The Stable’s series of powerhouse women in adland-Aus begins. They are not all CCOs or CEOs although some are leaders. The Stable, and the people who nominated them, want to applaud the grit, guts and gumption that exist in women at every level. We hope our powerhouse women will inspire everyone to see people, not their gender, in their colleagues, clients, friends and partners.
First in the series is Tracy Powell, head of post production, Saatchi & Saatchi NZ, and nominated by Sarah Ansley Jones, Saatchi & Saatchi head of growth and operations, who commented,
“Tracy is a rare talent, being both a technical, highly experienced editor and animator whilst also being a creative and inventive problem solver. She quickly understands the best way to deliver quality product, communicates and collaborates with the team and has an appetite to continue to grow, innovate and do things better.
“Bringing both creativity and structure to the department has meant Saatchi’s now has the slickest post production suite with a team we know will always get the job done to the utmost standard. And to top it off, Tracy and her all-female team are super nice humans that are always great to work with.”
Here is a snapshot of why Tracy is a powerhouse woman:
The Stable: You came to post-production from research – an unexpected place. What drew you to post-production. How did you move across?
Tracy Powell: Thinking back to university, I studied a Bachelor of Commerce, but I also took a few design papers as I liked numbers just as much as I enjoyed art. It wasn’t until I had pursued a career in market research for around 7 years that I realised I longed for something more creative. Like many 20 something’s, I had always loved film and music videos, but it was my obsession with snowboarding films at the time, that gave me the inspiration to pivot. So I went back to school full-time, studied VFX and motion graphics and essentially started back at the bottom of the career ladder.
TS: What skills, abilities and assets have been at the forefront of your career trajectory. What does it take to be great in post-production, and to be great in a male-dominated sector of the creative industries?
TP: It’s helpful to have an aptitude with computer software, as well being a strong problem solver; I sometimes think of parts of my job as like solving a puzzle. You have to be a yes person and not be afraid of doing things you’ve never done before, it’s the only way you learn and improve. I’ve also always been fairly calm under pressure, which I think is essential for post-artists. You don’t want to be that GIPHY of the guy throwing their computer off the desk.
I’m less conscious of being in a male-dominated sector now as I’ve gone from working with all males (a team of 7, plus me), to a predominately female team. That said, I think there’s an obvious imbalance on-set, especially with the lack of female directors. It’s fantastic to see more and more women who are editors, VFX and motion graphics artists, and I would like to see equal representation in the industry. However, my experience has only been positive, and I’ve been lucky to have worked with the nicest people in recent years.
TS: What challenges have you conquered to get to where you are?
TP: It was pretty difficult getting started. It wasn’t a common career path to be taking; courses were limited and job postings almost non-existent. When I was junior, I also found some people not willing to share their knowledge and would keep you at arm’s length. I would spend hours online trying to figure out how to do something rather than ask a senior person in fear of them thinking I didn’t know what I was doing. Thankfully that changed over time, and I was lucky to team up with some collaborative and supportive people, where we had a culture of no question is a stupid question.
I’ve also worked really hard and am not someone to give up. In my earlier years, it was normal to work weekends and late nights, there were times I didn’t leave the office until 3 or 4 in the morning. Thankfully the work-life balance has changed, and I think attitudes towards having such balance have progressed since then as well.
TS: What else do you want to conquer (what are your future goals)?
TP: The cool thing about what I do is that there’s always so much more to learn and I never want to stop learning. There’s a lot more in terms of VFX that I’d like to gain experience in. Technology is always changing, and AI is evolving at incredible speed. It’s a little scary of what it could be capable of, but equally exciting of its potential.
TS: Women in advertising have come far in the last five years. Perhaps less so in the creative sector? What is needed still?
TP: I think we need a better representation of female directors in NZ. Amber Jones is a great example whom I think is so inspiring, she’s an incredible photographer and director, and fearless free-diver. There needs to be more women in leadership roles, when you see mostly CEOs and MDs who are men, you believe getting to that level is unobtainable, which is simply not true. Luckily for me, at Publicis Groupe NZ we currently have women making up 57% of CEO/MD/GM roles and 56% in senior management positions, which I think is pretty awesome.
TS: What are you most proud of?
TP: There were times I wanted to give up and that it did feel too hard, so I’m proud of my resilience and perseverance to get to where I’m at today. Being in advertising allows you to work on a huge variety of great brands. Air NZ was a highlight, as well as non-profits, CCF and Auckland City Mission, as they had an awesome creative idea that was for a great cause. And when you get the opportunity to be on shoots with the All Blacks, it makes coming to work not feel like work.
