Zena Johnson, Campaign Engineer, recently celebrated 15 years at Harmelin Media. To mark the occasion, we caught up with her to hear her thoughts on the ever-evolving media industry and to get to know her a little better.
What are some of the notable changes you have seen in the industry since you started at Harmelin?
Digital Media is definitely something that has changed over my tenure in the industry. When I started, there was no digital billing dept or specialty digital teams at Harmelin and now to see digital growth over the years and be a part of the way processes were shaped is truly amazing. Streaming (all platforms) was fairly new and now it has changed the way people watch and listen to media.
How have emerging technologies and AI influenced the industry and your daily work?
Technology and AI have helped so much in making it easier and faster to do different tasks within my job. Especially after COVID, a lot that was heavily manual was digitized and streamlined to have anyone access the same information. AI is playing a pivotal role in daily work from email summarization to writing code and is changing some of the ways we do our work, which will create different jobs for us in the future.
Where do you see the industry in the next 1 year / 5 years / 10 years?
I’m not sure what the future will hold, but I know it will be heavily influenced by AI.
What’s one thing people would be surprised to learn about you?
I am a 3rd degree black belt in Kenpo Karate. I don’t train anymore but when I did, I loved it and my favorite was teaching the kids.
What’s a small thing that instantly improves your mood?
My dog, Queenie. Seeing her face in pictures or in real life always makes me happy. I generally am happy with all pictures of doggies on social media.
Who has inspired you in your life and why?
My mom is one of the hardest working women I know. She’s always inspired me to go after my dreams and supported me in everything I do.
Reflections from the Harmelin Community
Conor Elliott, Executive Vice President, shares, “Zena’s 15 years at Harmelin, to me, come down to one defining trait: reliability. From her days in digital billing to her work in Ad Operations, I’ve always known her to be someone we can count on — steady, thoughtful, and consistently delivering at a high level. She brings a calm confidence to everything she does, and she’s simply a pleasure to work with. Her teammates and clients genuinely enjoy working with her, and I feel lucky to have Zena as part of the team.”
Maggie Machalowski, Senior Traffic Director, says, “Zena and I have been colleagues for 15 years, but we only began working closely together over the past year or so, and it has been such a positive experience. She is genuinely thoughtful and kind — qualities that show up in the way she supports her coworkers. She is a truly dependable teammate, and it’s been a pleasure getting to collaborate more directly. She brings a calm, considerate presence and is always someone I can count on. Working more closely together has only deepened the respect I’ve had for her over the years.”
David Adams, Associate Director, states, “When I first arrived at Hamelin, Zena was one of those people that you couldn’t help but getting to know even if you didn’t work with her directly. She has an outgoing and friendly personality that brings out the best of our community here at Harmelin. When she joined the Ad Operations team, I was given the pleasure to work alongside her. It was easy to see how determined and dedicated she was to get up to speed with our work process. She quickly became an essential part of our team. Congratulations on this milestone!”
Kathy Coyne, Senior Vice President, adds, “I’m so lucky to have had the opportunity to work closely with Zena during her tenure at Harmelin! She’s an expert in her field, extremely reliable, and consistently delivering high-quality work. Zena brings a calm confidence to everything she does. Add in her humor and positive energy, and you get someone who’s not only great at what they do, but genuinely great to work with! Congratulations, Zena, on an incredible 15 years at Harmelin!”
Congratulations, Zena! Thank you for your 15 years of commitment to Harmelin and our clients.
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