Adwanted’s women in focus for International Women’s Day
For International Women’s Day Adwanted highlighted two women within the company to shine a spotlight on the work they do and to give an insight into their lives.
Carmen Mihaila senior developer Audio, Adwanted
Tell us about your role, how long you’ve been at adwanted and how you got into media/tech?
I’m the PHP Lead Developer here at Adwanted, where I head a team of four across backend, frontend, and database. I joined in April 2024 as a Senior Developer and stepped into the Lead role six months later.
I’ve always been involved in tech in all its forms – although never specifically media. From the outside, media tech looks shiny and glamorous, but at its core it’s still engineering, and we’re the people behind the scenes making everything work. Understanding the mechanisms, the workflows, and the many parties involved has been a challenge – and honestly, it’s still a path I’m learning to navigate every day.
How has your definition of ‘success’ in media/tech changed from your first day on the job to your current role?
When I started, success meant writing good code and shipping features. Today, success feels much bigger – it’s about enabling my team to grow, creating solutions that last, and building systems that make our products stronger long‑term.
My role shifted a little from ‘How do I solve this?’ to ‘How do we solve this better together?’. Right now, success is about the entire team, not just me.
Is there a ‘non-media’ skill or background experience you had (e.g., a hobby, a previous odd job) that unexpectedly became your secret weapon in this business?
I wouldn’t call it a weapon, but I started writing poems. It’s not a consistent practice – it comes and goes with my emotional state. Sometimes the words appear fully formed and I just need to lay them down; other times I must work to shape my thoughts. That process – finding clarity in emotions, structure in chaos – I could say it has quietly become a skill I bring into problem‑solving.
If you had to explain your current role to a 10-year-old, how would you describe the ‘problem’ you spend your day trying to solve?
I help make sure the parts of our platform and tools talk to each other without breaking. Imagine a giant Lego kingdom – every block must fit. My job is to make sure the castle stays strong, even when we keep adding new pieces every day.
In the spirit of #GiveToGain, what is one ‘unspoken rule’ of the media/tech world that you learned the hard way and now go out of your way to teach others?
Tech can feel intimidating and make you believe you need to know everything. You don’t. The earlier you share a blocker or ask a question, the faster the whole team can move.
The golden rule I learned is: don’t be scared to ask questions.
Can you share a moment where giving your time or resources to a peer or junior colleague unexpectedly ‘gained’ you a new perspective or a breakthrough in your own work?
Yes. We once had a tricky backend issue, and the backend team was discussing several solutions. Because the discussion happened in a shared channel, another teammate – who wasn’t part of our initial conversation – suggested a completely different approach: moving the logic to the database. It turned out to be the perfect solution for our system.
It was a clear reminder that collaboration is powerful. Sharing is a gem.
If you could gift one specific skill (technical or soft skill) to every woman entering the media workforce in 2026, what would it be and why?
I’m not mastering it yet myself, but I would give them the skill of unapologetic confidence – the ability to trust their voice in technical conversations, even when they’re the only woman in the room.
Which woman in tech is currently building the future you actually want to live in?
I’m not someone who holds onto fixed role models, mainly because everyone’s background, context, luck, and experiences are so different. Honestly, I don’t have a specific model – but I strongly admire women who carve their own path and build in ways that feel true to themselves.
Who is your go-to fictional woman leader when you need a reminder of how to handle an important meeting or call?
It depends a lot on what I’m reading, but I absolutely loved the main character from The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I wouldn’t say she’s a ‘go-to’, but she’s inspirational – her honesty, her determination to reclaim control over her life within a corrupted system, and her nonconformity toward appearance and expectations all resonate with me.
One book, documentary, or essay that completely changed how you view the intersection of media and society?
Probably The Uncivil War. It made me realise how social media can be a psychological battlefield — at least as powerful, if not more, than a physical one.
What is the one word or phrase that is currently driving your team’s strategy this year?
Adaptability – especially with how fast AI is reshaping the landscape. We want to stay flexible, curious, and ready to adjust our approach whenever needed.
Georgina Redman, Junior Client Service Manager & J-ET Specialist, Adwanted
Tell us about your role, how long you’ve been at adwanted and how you got into media/tech?
I started at Adwanted UK after completing my Psychology Degree from University of Nottingham back in 2022 and I’ve been here just over three and a half years.
Working on the Audio team, I started out as a Graduate Client Service Executive on J-ET – the UK Commercial radio industry’s trading platform. Adwanted UK has a range of audio products: J-ET, Audiotrack – our copy distribution platform that integrates with J-ET, and AudioLab – our digital reporting suite.
My role has evolved from focusing exclusively on J-ET to now working across all of our Audio products. Last year I was promoted to Junior Client Service Manager & J-ET Specialist and with that I now manage our Audio Client Service Apprentices alongside working across the J-ET and Audiotrack helpdesks.
The transition to a management role was a welcome challenge and I’ve really enjoyed seeing my direct reports grow in knowledge, skill and confidence. My day-to-day routine includes supporting the entire client service team with queries and ensuring the help desks run smoothly, maintaining the high standard of customer service that our clients are used to.
Media was always a career path that intrigued me, from studying it at GCSE & A-Level, to taking part in a mentor programme, Creative Mentor Network that gave valuable insight into the industry and the different career options available.
When the role for Client Service Executive on J-ET became available, I was at the end of my university experience, and it was the perfect fit for kick starting my career in media. The role gave me the opportunity to gain experience about an industry that had always held an interest for me and allowed me to further develop my technical skills to better support our clients.
How has your definition of ‘success’ in media/tech changed from your first day on the job to your current role?
Specific to my role on the Client Service team, I feel my definition of Success is synonymous with Customer Satisfaction, and the knowledge that our suite of audio products is making our clients lives easier and more efficient in their day-to-day work.
This was true on my first day in the role and continues to be true now. I still define success within the role by how content our clients are with the support they receive from our client service team.
On the helpdesk we constantly look for feedback to ensure our products meet the needs of the client and we make product enhancements based on this. As such, client satisfaction is at the very heart of what I do and remains my benchmark for Success.
If you had to explain your current role to a 10-year-old, how would you describe the ‘problem’ you spend your day trying to solve?”
If I had to explain my role to a 10-year-old I would say that I help radio and digital audio adverts get booked, delivered, and tracked properly so that they play when and where they’re supposed to. Across J‑ET, Audiotrack, and AudioLab, I help clients easily book their campaigns, make sure their adverts and audio files meet industry quality standards, get delivered to the right stations on time, and support them in tracking how well their ads performed. My role is to make the whole process – booking, delivering, and reconciliation of ads – run smoothly from start to finish.
Who is your go-to fictional woman leader when you need a reminder of how to handle an important meeting or call?”
My go-to fictional female character when I need a reminder of my capabilities ahead of an important meeting would be Elle Woods from Legally Blonde. This movie was iconic to me growing up, and I love that Elle worked extremely hard and defied stereotypes, showing her intelligence and determination.
Elle will always be a role model for me as she demonstrated the importance of staying true to yourself and leading with kindness.
One of the most important lessons that I learnt from Elle’s character was that you don’t have to compromise who you are to be a successful woman in business.