This is the twentieth in a series of interviews exploring the career and life journey of women in the media industry. The aim of the series is to reflect on the wisdom they have gained during their journey.
So far we have had a cross section of women in different roles and career stages, including the most recent articles on Millie Starling, Emma Lawson, Andrea Ho, Rachel Patterson and Erica McGee. All the past features are listed below.
This week we profile, Sharon Taylor who began her career as an operations manager, later an account manager for a tech company, then moved to the Australian start up Omny Studio where she quickly became CEO and guided it’s successful growth before it was acquired by Triton Digital. She now works as Chief Revenue Officer for Triton Digital in Montreal.
1. Describe your current professional life and your stage of life.
I’m the CRO of Triton Digital, responsible for driving growth and revenue for our commercial broadcast and enterprise podcast clients in 86 countries. I’ve been with Triton for 6.5 years, after selling Omny Studio (a leading podcast hosting CMS) to them in 2019 when I was the CEO.
My professional life now is quite a bit different to my startup C-Suite days, especially since moving to North America to be in a better timezone for global business.
I’m still just as passionate about helping publishers succeed in the digital audio space.
2. How did you come to be in this industry?
At the start of 2016, I took an 8 week contract with Omny Studio. They were a Melbourne startup built by some very smart people and had recently launched their SaaS platform. They were looking for some commercial operations assistance. That 8 week contract turned into a Head of Operations full-time role and then turned into the CEO role about 3 months later. I took Omny from pre-revenue to become one of the world’s leading hosting platforms, before Triton Digital acquired us in 2019.
It was a whirlwind and the best choice I ever made in my career, just by taking the opportunity that was presented at the time and embracing the unknown.
3. What are your core beliefs? How are your values evident in the work you do or the life you lead?
I care about two things very deeply: ensuring that our clients and staff have as positive and successful a day as possible, every day.
Those guide everything I do and the choices I make.
4. How did your education, formal and informal, enrich your career/ life journey?
My Commerce degree provided the base skillset for me to enter the professional workforce. The experience I gained on-the-job, both pre and post graduation, in a range of industries, was the most enriching aspect of my life and career journey so far. Not that group projects at uni weren’t an absolute delight!
5. What are some of your key decision change points and how did they shape your career/ life journey?
In 2016, I’d been working for the same tech company for 8 and a half years. I was comfortable in my bubble, but always felt like I was meant to be doing more in business.
It took me 2 years but I built up the courage to make a change, move across the country and start working with startups. The best decision I ever made and one that changed the trajectory of my career.
Sometimes you have to push out of a comfort zone to show yourself what you’ve always thought you were capable of.
6. What makes you happy? What makes you get up in the morning?
I’m lucky to be one of those people who actually love what they do. Getting up to do it every day with the world’s leading creators of audio around the world, is a pretty good motivator.
7. Share your words of wisdom for others in the industry or those wishing to work in the industry?
This industry is special – the people, the publishers, the opportunities and excitement.
My biggest advice is to just jump in and know there are a lot of very excellent people waiting to welcome you.
8. Describe your vision for the audio media industry in the near future.
I’m excited to watch audio publishers, especially in the podcast space, successfully navigate a world where content consumption is increasingly modular and consumed by a younger audience.
9. What role would you like to play in shaping the audio industry of the future?
Audio is such a powerful medium and the digital world is seeing growth unlike any other currently.
I’m excited to be a part of the industry at such a pivotal time and hope that my involvement leads to long-term sustainable success for digital audio publishers.
Sharon Taylor Conference speaker with Corey Leyland
Series compiled by Serena Ahern for radioinfo.
If you have a suggestion for someone to be considered for this series, please send a note to [email protected]
Wisdom of Women in Media: Erica McGee, Group Content Director, Triple M & Hit
Wisdom of Women in Media: Rachel Patterson, General Manager, Geelong Broadcasters
Wisdom of Women in Media: Andrea Ho, Discipline Lead Radio & Podcasting, AFTRS
Wisdom of Women in Media: Emma Lawson, Platform Specialist, ABC
Wisdom of Women in Media: Millie Starling, Content Director & EP, SAFM
Wisdom of Women in Media: Archana Kapoor founder Radio Mewat
Wisdom of Women in Media: Justine Kelly, Manager Audio Output & Strategy, ABC International
Wisdom of Women in Media: Manpreet Kaur Singh, SBS Audio Program Manager
Wisdom of Women in Media: Cheryl Lee Co Founder and Manager Rebel Radio Network
Wisdom of Women in Media: Rebecca Ackland Chief People & Culture Officer SCA
Wisdom of Women in Media: Helen Tzarimas News Reader and Journalist Gold 101.7
Wisdom of Women in Media: Amanda Lee, Head of HIT Metro Content/Fox FM Content Director
Wisdom of Women in Media: Kim Napier, Breakfast Presenter ABC Northern Tasmania
Wisdom of Women in Media: Megan Smith, Senior Producer Gold 101.7
Wisdom of Women in Media: Laura Bouchet, Content Director Triple M
Wisdom of Women in Media: Lauren Joyce, Chief Audience & Content Officer ARN